KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra has said that any “political unease” will negatively affect the nation’s economy.
Tending to a public interview at the national bank’s home office on Thursday, the SBP senator said that the economy was getting pace to improve things, and any political inconvenience at this stage would be impeding to national economy. He called for dodging any political move that may bring about shakiness in the nation.
He said that a section of the media had created a negative impression about the country’s payable debts, which was negatively impacting the economy. “We need to analyse domestic and foreign debts separately. The external debt volume at present is $57.70 billion, and $5 billion is being paid back annually,” Wathra added. Clearing the situation, he said the country still had time to repay the loans, adding that the loans were not creating any imbalance.
He said that remittances had declined during the month of July, which was only a seasonal impact because of Eid. He also informed the press conference that Pakistan was the largest recipient of remittances during the last five years.
The SBP governor said that the country’s economy in the backdrop of improved situation of law and order and reduced energy crisis was growing, which was evident from the fact that the gross domestic product (GDP) had surged to 4.7 percent. He said that the foreign rating agencies and journals had also endorsed the economic development taking place in the country.
