ISLAMABAD: A business community leader has urged the government to immediately settle issue of circular debt otherwise it will leave PSO bankrupt disrupting import of oil and gas which will damage economy and reverse all the economic gains.
Disruption in the energy supply chain will have a very negative impact on masses, industry and agriculture therefore the issue should be resolved on priority, said ICCI former president Atif Ikram Sheikh. In a statement issued here today, he said that the government is reluctant to clear the debt because it will widen the fiscal deficit which is against the national interests.
Sheikh said that the government settled circular debt worth Rs480 billion on 2013 and claimed that it will never resurface again which proved otherwise. He noted that now circular debt has resurfaced with the government claiming it to be at Rs393 billion while private power producers say that it is Rs414 billion. Power producers are not paid therefore they are unable to pay Rs 274 billion to PSO on account of oil purchase.
