ICCI expresses concern over total external debt, liabilities

Islamabad: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) Senior Vice President Muhammad Naveed Malik said that Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities have reached Rs29.861 trillion while external debt and liabilities have crossed $95 billion till June 30, 2018 indicating that every person of the nation owed debt burden of Rs144,256 which was cause of concern and called upon the PTI government to devise a new strategy to get rid of debt and liabilities as without coping with debt issue, the country could not achieve sustainable economic growth.

He said that Pakistan spent a huge amount of $7.479 billion on debt serving during 2017-18 which showed that debt burden was consuming lot of financial resources of the country.

He said that instead of depending on debt sources to run the affairs of the country, the new government should focus on indigenous sources and adopt austerity measures to control unnecessary expenditures.

He was talking to a delegation of Traders Welfare Association, G-7/1, Islamabad that called on him led by its President Raja Safeer Ahmed. Ch. Muhammad Saleem Senior Vice President, Faizan Shehzad, M. Faheem Khan, Muhammad Ramzan and Rana Aqeel were also in the delegation.