'Pakistan should suspend payments to all creditors'

Pakistan should suspend its payments of debt to International Monetary Fund and World Bank and to all creditors, said member of the Campaign for Abolition of Third World Debt (CADTM) Stephanie Jacquemont while talking to Business Recorder here on Tuesday. She further said that Pakistani government should constitute a Debt Audit Commission on the pattern of Ecuador to monitor all debt, its utilisation in different sectors and to detect illegal repayments.
Government should refuse to pay debts, which were taken during the rule of dictators, she said and added that government should not take back subsidies on utility bills. She urged the government of Pakistan that there should be no more cut on the budget of social sector especially education and heath sector.
She called for immediate freeze of foreign debt repayments of Pakistan keeping in view the flood-devastation. She urged grants instead of loans for Pakistan, which were essential for it to develop the means to withstand such disasters in future. She said the CADTM - Belgium would be influencing its government to waive Pakistan's total debt keeping in view the needs of as many as 20 million flood-hit people to whom the loan amount could be diverted.
She said October 14 (tomorrow) will be observed as Anti-Debt Day for Pakistan with slogans of 'Shout for Pakistan-Cancellation of Debt' and 'Break the Chain and Change the System', urging her own government to forgo the Pakistani loans forthwith to get the country out of economic instability and poverty.
The campaign in Pakistan will last up to October 17, she said adding that reconstruction in the flood affected areas would be one of the greatest challenges as the scale of damage is tremendous: houses, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, power lines, communication infrastructure, etc have been destroyed. Another huge challenge is agriculture. The floods, which have hit particularly fertile lands, have swept crops and livestock away, thus making food prices skyrocket and jeopardising the country's food security and sovereignty.
She also said CADTM Pakistan, together with other social movements, associations, trade unions and political parties has launched this campaign calling for the immediate suspension of repayments, the refusal of new loans and the unconditional abolition of Pakistan's foreign debt. The campaign has already received national and international support. However it is necessary to raise awareness in Pakistan and elsewhere in order to intensify the pressure put on lending countries and institutions as well as on the government of Pakistan.