Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar said on Saturday there was no big deal in repaying loan to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Commenting on reports, he said the Musharraf regime has paid one billion dollars debt to the Asian Development Bank, adding: "There is nothing big in the Musharraf regime's claim that it had paid $1 billion debt to the Asian Development Bank."
"The money claimed to have been returned did not come from the growth in economy nor from investment. It came from the rescheduling of the debts after Islamabad joined the war on terror, and it was the people of Pakistan, who were paying this money", said Babar.
"By comparison the return of one billion dollars of Pakistan's principal debt during the government of Benazir Bhutto was a historic achievement because the money repaid came from investment and growth of the economy, which provided jobs to unemployed and helped in the social sector development", he added.
"The Musharraf regime paid a paltry one billion dollars in debt-repayment, whereas Islamabad had been rewarded with several billions with the rescheduling of the country's entire debt for joining the coalition against terror", he said.
Babar said: "The present regime must be castigated for repaying such a small and paltry amount given the generous support to Pakistan has been receiving from the international community", adding: "The Party demands that the Musharraf regime stop wasting national resources and concentrate on retiring Islamabad's debt", he said.
"Until the massive debt was retired, the inflation would continue to crush the working and middle classes. Moreover, as soon as the rescheduling period was over, unless the debt was paid, it would be a crushing burden on the shoulders of the unborn children of Pakistan", he said.
"The return of a meagre one billion dollars makes Benazir government's achievement of paying of one billion dollars a decade earlier a remarkable achievement as Islamabad was not getting any international support then. Her government paid off the debt through sound economic policies", he said.
"The PPP government paid off the debt without the fanfare as though by paying the debt all the problems would end. The problems would not end until the entire debt was paid off, and the economy started moving forward", Babar said.
"The economy has been in recession since the overthrow of the PPP government. People are facing untold miseries and committing suicides as employees are retrenched and one out of every three persons is jobless", he said.
"It is extremely insensitive to gloat over the repayment of a mere one billion dollars debt under such pathetic conditions; it is cruel bid to divert attention from real issues", the Senator said.
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