Govt to pay Rs50 bn in circular debt

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday decided to immediately pay back Rs50 billion in circular debt. “The decision has been taken after Independent Power Producers (IPPs) threatened that they would suspend power generation,” sources in the Finance Ministry said.

The phase-wise payment will be initiated from Monday after the Ashura holidays and the weekend, the sources added. On Monday, Rs34 billion will be paid to the Ministry of Power and the remaining Rs16 billion will be given at the end of next month, they added. The Rs50 billion has been taken as loan from eight banks, the sources further said.