FO, FIA tasked with bringing Nawaz Sharif back

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed that no legal means should be spared to bring former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif back from the United Kingdom. This important decision was taken in a meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan here.

It has been decided to write a fresh letter to the British government for repatriation of Nawaz Sharif. In the light of the prime minister’s instructions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have been tasked with bringing Nawaz back, local media reports.

Expressing their indignation, the federal ministers said instead of admitting their mistakes, the PML-N leaders were making the national institutions controversial. The federal cabinet was informed that the government was spending around $10 billion per annum on debt repayment as against around $5.5 billion paid by the previous government.

The cabinet was given a detailed briefing about the country’s debt and repayment during the fiscal years 2018, 2019 and 2020. The meeting was informed that as the PTI government inherited Rs3 trillion (Rs3,000 billion) debt, it had to take more loans for debt servicing and to save the country from default.

The cabinet was told that the government had received $24 billion as foreign loan, including $2 billion taken during the interimgovernment. It was informed that during the fiscal year 2019, the public debt registered an increase of Rs770 billion, mainly due to restoration of the true value of rupee.

The cabinet was told that the public exchequer had a hit of Rs100 billion in terms of revenue due to COVID-19; Rs210 billion was utilized for repayment of the previous governments debt, whereas Rs100 billion was reserved by the government as cash buffer.

With increase in public debt declining to Rs350 billion in 2020, the primary deficit decreased from Rs150 billion in 2019 to Rs100 billion in 2020, it was informed. The cabinet was told that for the first time in last 12 years, the primary surplus until March 2020 was Rs20 billion before the COVID-19.

The meeting was told that the government had taken various measures during the last two years including securing decline in primary deficit; stabilizing exchange rate; improving the quality and nature of domestic debt; improving the nature of foreign debt; and introducing new products and other measures regarding loans.

The cabinet was told that the government was focusing on augmenting exports and foreign exchange reserves. The cabinet was informed that with the educational activities being restored throughout the country from September 30 (Wednesday), the process of education for 30 million school children would revive.

The meeting stressed strict implementation of the protective measures against coronavirus including the use of face masks. About ongoing reforms in the energy sector, especially bringing down the circular debt, the cabinet was told that if the present government had not taken various measures, the annual circular debt which was Rs450 billion in the fiscal year 2018, would have swollen to Rs853 billion and Rs1,610 billion in the fiscal years 2020 and 2023, respectively.

It was informed that as a result of the government’s steps, the circular debt in 2020, which was projected to be Rs853 billion as per previous trends, was now being estimated at Rs538 billion, depicting a decrease of over Rs300 billion. The cabinet was further told that various measures taken by the government, including negotiations with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), rationalization of return on equity cover, closure of low performing power plants, improvement in subsidy system and some others would help save Rs620 billion.

The meeting was also told that there was continued decline in terms of Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses, which were brought down to 17.7% in 2019 and would be further reduced to 16.3% in 2023.

The cabinet was informed that the government’s negotiations with Generation Companies (GENCOs) and agreements with the IPPs would help save public money of Rs100 billion and Rs61.6 billion, respectively, over the next three years.

It was further told that as a result of various measures, an amount of Rs77 billion was saved in FY 2019. The cabinet approved flight operations of British Airline Virgin Atlantic between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

The cabinet accorded one-time approval for pre-shipment inspection for the agencies regarding the import of wheat. The cabinet also accorded in principle approval to the proposed visa policy regarding Afghanistan. The meeting also approved the appointment of Amna Bibi as Federal Government Analyst for National Control Laboratory for Biological Drugs under Section 16 of the Drugs Act 1976.