Pakistan having commitment of 4pc grants, 96pc loans

ISLAMABAD: At a time of depleting foreign currency reserves, Pakistan has been obtaining commitment of only 4 percent for grants and 96 percent for foreign loans from all multilateral and bilateral creditors thus plunging the country into debt trap with surge in debt servicing and posing threats of default with every passing month.

According to official documents, the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) maintains systematic record of commitments and disbursements in the shape of “Status Report on Commitments and Disbursements of Foreign Economic Assistance”.

Total commitments of foreign economic assistance by the various donors amounted to $17.400 billion during FY 2015-16. It includes: (a) Grants amounting to US $682 million; and (b) Loans amounting to $16.718 billion.

Commitments from bilateral sources were higher than that of the multilateral sources. Bilateral sources committed an amount of $10.021 billion while commitments from multilateral sources were $5.431 billion. Similarly $500 were committed for bonds and $1.448 billion by commercial banks during the FY 2015-16.

The break-up of commitments showed that $5.431 billion from the multilateral sources consisted of US $480 million grants and US $4.951 billion loans.

In the multilateral group, ADB with commitments of US $1.961 billion was the largest contributor. Other major contributors were World Bank [$1.699 billion] and IDB [US $1.338 billion].