Domestic debt increased by 5.5 percent since June 2018: Sherry informs Senate

Pakistan's domestic debt has increased by 5.5 percent since June 2018 while external debt has soared by 17 percent, Pakistan Peoples Party's Senator Sherry Rehman claimed on Thursday. Speaking on a calling attention notice on 'surging of Pakistan's total debt to an all time high figure, denoting drastic increase from June 2018, Rehman warned of the precarious economic situation and criticised the government for its indecision regarding crucial economic matters.
Rehman pointed out that the government has resorted to borrowing Rs 400 billion from Islamic banks to ease circular debt pressures. "The country cannot be run on debts and the policy of overburdening the economy with more debts would not work," she said.
"The government's revenues are much lower than its expenses, leading to a budget deficit. They made tall claims of ridding the country of debt and make Pakistan sovereign but that's only possible if they can show how they meet the expenses from the resources they have at their disposal. That is a budget exercise all about", she said.
She said the public and investors are asking serious questions, everyone knows that indecision is the worst thing that can happen to an economy and they seem oblivious to this. Earlier, the opposition parties staged a walkout from the House against promulgation of Elections (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018. While objecting to promulgation of the ordinance, PPP leader Sherry Rehman said the Elections Act has been amended through the ordinance, noting that this could have been done through a bill.
"We will see how the country is run through ordinances," she said, advising the government not to belittle the Parliament like this. Leader of the House in the Senate Shibli Faraz, however, justified promulgation of the ordinance saying that it had been promulgated on January 2, when the Parliament was not in session. He criticised the opposition for creating issues out of non-issues and seeking fun through sensational environment.
Soon after his brief remarks, the opposition staged a walkout from the House following which quorum was pointed out. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani sought a policy statement from the government on the US-Taliban talks after the issue was raised by former Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani who said the US-Taliban dialogue is at an advanced stage but the Parliament is not taken into confidence on this important development.
Rabbani said the Foreign Office has stated that Pakistan is playing the role of a facilitator. He urged the chairman Senate to seek a formal briefing from the government on the ongoing US-Taliban negotiations for peace in the war-torn Afghanistan.
"It is such an important issue dealing with national and regional security but Parliament is not informed about it," he said. About 18th amendment, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said the PTI government has never discussed this plan in any cabinet meeting, official meeting or party meeting.
He said, "There is nothing in the pipeline in this connection. There is always room to amend a law for its betterment but the government is not considering to roll back the 18th Amendment."