ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was informed on Thursday that as of May 31, 2022, the country’s total external debt and liabilities amounted to $126.07 billion of which $85.64 billion was on account of public external debt.
In a written reply to a question, the minister for economic affairs said that Pakistan obtained $7.3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during this period.
He said that “it is projected that the government will repay approximately $95.4 billion from June 2022 to June 2059 based on existing commitments of the government of Pakistan.”
“…off this amount, $82.0 billion will be repaid as principal while almost $13.4 billion will be repaid as interest (subject to exchange rate and interest rate variations),” he added.
In a written reply to another question, the Minister for Finance, Miftah Ismail, said that “Rs12,345 billion loans were obtained by the government from 2019 to April 2022”.
He said that domestic loans are primarily obtained through auctions of treasury bills, Pakistan Investment Bonds/ Sukuks conducted by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) from primary dealers (commercial banks) and other financial institutions.
He said that the loans from external sources are obtained from multilaterals, bilateral and commercial sources, adding commercial loans, bonds and other loans are obtained by the Finance Ministry directly from the international market and international banks.
He said that the total value of loans (deposits) received from China by the government during the last three years are $1 billion at 12 mL + 1 % rate.
The House was also informed that the SBP is playing an active role in the promotion of Islamic Banking, globally.
Responding to a question during question hour, State Minister for Finance Aisha Ghous Pasha said that the government is committed to fulfilling its constitutional obligation regarding Riba.
She said that the advisory council of Islamic Ideology has recommended that there should be a gradual change in the system to bring it in conformity with the injunctions of Islam.
She said any abrupt or sudden change would create numerous difficulties for the country, adding the government has taken concrete steps to encourage and facilitate Islamic Banking system in the country.
She said that Islamic banking has been witnessing robust growth of around 24 to 30 percent annually.
Responding to a question, she said that withholding tax deducted on mobile recharge is refundable and can be claimed through filing simple returns.
She said that at present, there is no economic value or benefit to the country for allowing cryptocurrency business in Pakistan.
However, the salary and benefits details of the governor SBP were presented in the House, according to which, the position of the SBP governor is currently vacant while the senior most deputy governor is performing as acting governor.
According to the Finance Ministry, following are the details of the total monthly salary along with perks drawn by the ex-governor SBP Reza Baqir. The former SBP governor used to draw a monthly salary of Rs2.5 million.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the salary of the SBP governor is increased by 10 percent annually and the governor is given a fully-furnished house.
He is also given two fully maintained chauffeur-driven cars with a petrol ceiling of 600 litres each as follows; 1,800CC local assembled car with the option to buy on book value, 1,600CC local assembled car.
The SBP governor is also paid 75 percent of the total school fee of his children besides availing free land/ mobile phones and internet facility.
The utility expenses of the SBP governor, including electricity, gas, water and fuel for a standby generator, are provided by the State Bank.
His travelling allowance is as per SBP rules/ approved by the SBP board while post-retirement benefits are also listed as approved by the SBP board.
Landline, mobile phone and internet are also provided free of charge to the governor SBP. Under relocation expenses, air tickets for the governor and his family are covered. According to the list, the governor receives an annual increment that is 10 per cent of his monthly salary. For accommodation, the state bank governor receives either the furnished and maintained State Bank House or rent allowance with furnishing and maintenance as approved by the SBP board.
For domestic help, the governor is entitled to reimbursement of actual salary paid for up to four servants of Rs18,000/ head with periodic reviews of the subsidy by the HR committee as per requirement.
The governor is also entitled to round-the-clock security as per requirement including security guards and a security system, in addition to full medical facilities as per the SBP rules.
The governor is also given three leaves per month with a leave encashment facility of up to six months on the completion of tenure while the gratuity is one month monetised salary for each completed year of service on the last drawn salary.
The SBP governor’s travelling allowance is as per SBP rules/ approved by the SBP board while post-retirement benefits are also listed as approved by the SBP board.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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