KARACHI: Pakistan has welcomed the moratorium on over $12 billion of debt repayment obligations from G20 countries until Dec. 2020, but expects its loans may be written off in the long term, according to a government economic adviser.
After a meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday, the grouping of the world’s most powerful economies-- the G20-- included Pakistan among 76 countries eligible for debt relief on all principal and interest payments.
“In the long-term these loans could be written off once there is some collective clarity in the United Nations about what is required to bring developing countries back on track,” Dr. Salman Shah, adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister on economic affairs, and a former federal finance minister, told Arab News.
“I think these things will definitely happen and at the global level,” he added.
With over $100 billion in debt to foreign lenders, Pakistan spends the largest chunk of its budget on debt servicing. Last week, it began a $900 million cash disbursement program to 12 million poor families left unemployed due to lockdowns enforced to contain the pandemic.
The loan moratorium is expected to give Pakistan a breather, and help the country reschedule loans with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and other creditors.
“This is a short term measure,” Dr. Shah said. “[Pakistan] had to pay back between 10 to 12 billion dollars, so in a way, you get immediate liquidity so your reserves stay stable and you get some fiscal space.” He estimated the coronavirus pandemic had led to a roughly 10 percent hit to the country’s GDP.
Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed via video message to international stakeholders for urgent debt relief so less developed countries could more effectively deal with the economic fallout of coronavirus.
Following this, the IMF on Friday approved $1.4 billion for Pakistan to support the country’s economy which is projected to grow by negative 1.5 percent after the pandemic. This aid is in addition to its $6 billion bailout package to the country.
“The $1.4 billion RFI disbursement is additional to the $6 billion EFF to help Pakistan’s immediate efforts to COVID-19. The EFF remains in place. Staff & authorities continue to work closely to bring the second review to the IMF Board as soon as possible,” the IMF’s Pakistan office said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
Though the freeze on the country’s debt payments by the G20 until December this year will provide fiscal space, Pakistan’s development experts and economists say the move might not be enough in a pandemic scenario.
“G20 can play the most vital role, first by writing off loans and then by convincing others that this time, unlike previous epidemics, the COVID-19 outbreak has multidimensional effects. To cope with these, countries with huge surpluses and foreign reserves like China must assume larger responsibility,” a senior Lahore-based economist, Dr. Ikram Ul Haq, told Arab News.
Financial and development experts around the world have called for consultations among finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 to further address the gravity of the deepening crisis in the world’s poorest countries.
“As Pakistan Prime Minister pleaded, the poorest countries need support by way of write-offs and not merely a moratorium on debt. This, of course, requires international cooperation and far beyond mere traditional solutions— deferment of loan and interest payments,” Dr. Haq said.
Pakistan welcomes G20 debt relief, hopes for loan write-offs
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Pakistan welcomes G20 debt relief, hopes for loan write-offs
- Over $12 bn of Pakistan’s debt repayment obligations have been suspended until Dec. 2020
- IMF will disburse $1.4bn in aid to Pakistan, in addition to $6bn bailout package
Pakistan hikes petrol, diesel prices in fortnightly review
- Government sets petrol at Rs258.43 per liter, up from Rs253.63
- High-speed diesel will cost Rs262.59 per liter, up from Rs254.64
KARACHI: Pakistan’s government has increased fuel prices, raising the rate of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs7.95 per liter and petrol by Rs4.80 per liter effective from today, Monday, an official notification from the finance division said.
The notification set the price of petrol at Rs258.43 per liter, up from Rs253.63, while high-speed diesel will cost Rs262.59 per liter, up from Rs254.64.
The revision is based on “recommendations from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and relevant ministries,” the finance division saiad.
The government did not provide a specific explanation for the hike.
Fuel prices in Pakistan are generally influenced by global oil market trends, currency fluctuations, and changes in domestic taxes.
Fuel costs are revised every two weeks and have a direct impact on inflation. Rising fuel prices increase production and transportation costs, leading to higher prices for goods and services across the board in Pakistan, including food and other essential items. This direct relationship is further amplified by the country’s dependence on imported fuel.
Pakistan closes pedestrian traffic at key Iran border crossings as Israel strikes escalate
- The closures affect the Taftan crossing in Chaghi district and the Gabd-Rimdan crossing in Gwadar district
- Both are key rotes for cross-border movement, local trade in Pakistan’s Balochistan province
QUETTA: Pakistani authorities have closed two major border crossings with Iran for pedestrian traffic amid escalating cross-border strikes between Iran and Israel, officials in the southwestern Balochistan province said on Sunday.
The closures affect the Taftan crossing in Chaghi district and the Gabd-Rimdan crossing in Gwadar district, both key routes for cross-border movement and local trade between Balochistan and Iran.
The Gabd-Rimdan border crossing is a point on the Iran-Pakistan border, specifically at “BP-250,” the second crossing along the 900-kilometer border between the two countries. The crossing facilitates trade and people-to-people contact between Iran and Pakistan.
“All kinds of pedestrian movement at the Gabd-Rimdan-250 border have been suspended due to the Iran-Israel conflict,” Jawad Ahmed Zehri, assistant commissioner for Gwadar, told Arab News.
Trade activity at the crossing would remain open and Pakistani citizens stranded in Iran would be allowed to return, he said, but no new entries into Iran would be permitted through this point until further notice.
In a separate order, authorities also closed the Taftan border crossing in Chaghi district for pedestrian traffic.
“We have closed pedestrian movements at the Taftan border until further notice,” said Naveed Ahmed, assistant commissioner for Taftan, adding that trade and customs operations from the crossing were continuing as usual.
The closures are expected to affect daily wage laborers, small-scale traders and local residents who depend on frequent cross-border movement for commerce, supplies and family visits.
Small items such as fruit, vegetables and household goods are commonly traded by hand or in small vehicles along these routes.
The closures come amid heightened tensions following Israeli strikes on Iranian cities since Friday with scores killed, including senior Iranian military commanders.
The bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and Iran reached $2.8 billion in the last fiscal year, which ended in June. Both countries have signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim of increasing this volume to $10 billion.
Iran also supplies about 100 megawatts of electricity to border towns in Balochistan.
Trump says can broker Iran‑Israel peace using trade as he did with India‑Pakistan
- Trump’s reference to India and Pakistan pertains to military confrontation which ended with US-facilitated ceasefire on May 10
- Iranian officials report at least 138 people have been killed in Israel’s military onslaught since Friday, including 60 on Saturday
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he could use American trade leverage to broker a peace deal between Iran and Israel, drawing a parallel to his administration’s role in facilitating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan last month.
The renewed conflict saw Iran and Israel exchanging missile and drone strikes over the past three days.
Iranian officials report at least 138 people have been killed in Israel’s onslaught since Friday, including 60 on Saturday, half of them children, when a missile brought down a 14-story apartment block in Tehran. Israel has reported at least 13 deaths.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal, just like I got India and Pakistan to make,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “In that case by using TRADE with the United States to bring reason, cohesion, and sanity into the talks with two excellent leaders who were able to quickly make a decision and STOP!”
Trump’s reference to India and Pakistan pertains to a brief military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May, which ended with a US-facilitated ceasefire on May 10. Washington said trade and security assurances were key to the de-escalation.
He also cited other conflicts, between Serbia and Kosovo, and disputes over the Nile dam involving Egypt and Ethiopia, saying his interventions helped maintain peace “at least for now.”
“Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” Trump added. “Many calls and meetings now taking place.”
Since Friday, Pakistan’s government has repeatedly pledged solidarity with Iran but urged its citizens to postpone travel to Iran and Iraq until the security situation improves.
On Saturday, Islamabad issued a formal travel advisory asking Pakistanis to avoid travel to Iran “for a limited period” due to the Israeli attacks.
Pakistan has also condemned the Israeli strikes, calling them an unjustified violation of Iranian sovereignty, and has urged the international community to help de-escalate tensions through dialogue.
Two police officers killed, two wounded in ambush in Pakistan’s Balochistan province
- Attack, claimed by BRA separatists, took place late on Saturday in Sui, mountain town about 50km from Dera Bugti city
- Police were ambushed after they had rushed to the area in two vehicles to respond to reports of a grenade explosion
QUETTA: Two police officers were killed and two others injured when gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Sunday.
The attack took place late on Saturday in Sui, a mountainous town about 50km from Dera Bugti city where police had rushed to respond to reports of a grenade explosion.
Jalab Khan, station house officer at Sui Police, said officers were traveling in two vehicles when they were ambushed.
“Nearly a dozen armed men were hiding behind a large rock and attacked our vehicles with heavy gunfire, hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades,” Khan told Arab News.
“Two policemen were killed on the spot and two sustained bullet wounds,” he said, adding that the attackers fled under the cover of darkness.
The Baloch Republican Army (BRA), an ethnic Baloch separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The BRA has been involved in multiple attacks on security forces and gas infrastructure in Dera Bugti, one of Pakistan’s key natural gas-producing districts.
The group emerged after the killing of veteran Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti during a military operation in 2006.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is a mineral-rich region that is home to Beijing’s investment in the Gwadar deep water port and other projects. It is Pakistan’s largest province by size but smallest by population and the most impoverished. It has long been the site of a separatist insurgency by groups like the BRA, who are fighting for independence.
Pakistan accuses neighboring India and Afghanistan of supporting Baloch separatist militants, a claim they deny. Islamabad also says neighboring Iran does not do enough against militants operating on their shared border.
“The slain policemen were local residents of Dera Bugti and their bodies have been handed over to families for burial,” said Atta Tareen, the district police officer for Dera Bugti.
A first information police report hasd been registered and Balochistan’s Counter Terrorism Department was leading the investigation, Tareen added.
Bitcoin pioneer Michael Saylor holds ‘landmark’ talks with Pakistan Crypto Council officials
- Pakistan set up PCC in March to create legal framework for cryptocurrency trading in bid to lure international investment
- Michael Saylor, bitcoin advocate and billionaire US business executive, speaks to Pakistani ministers for finance, crypto
KARACHI: Pakistani officials held a “landmark discussion” this week with Michael Saylor, bitcoin advocate and billionaire US business executive, on using digital currencies to strengthen Pakistan’s financial resilience and its digital economy, according to a statement released on Sunday.
Pakistan set up the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) in March to create a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading in a bid to lure international investment. In April, Pakistan introduced its first-ever policy framework to set rules for how digital money like cryptocurrencies and the companies that deal in it should operate in Pakistan. The policy has been formulated to align with compliance and financial integrity guidelines of the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Last month, the government approved setting up the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), a specialized regulatory body to oversee blockchain-based financial infrastructure, and separately also unveiled the country’s first government-led strategic bitcoin reserve at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.
Talks this week between Saylor and Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Minister of State for Crypto and Blockchain Bilal Bin Saqib focused on how bitcoin could be used as part of sovereign reserves and monetary policy.
“Pakistan aspires to lead the Global South in the development and adoption of digital assets, setting a benchmark for innovation, regulation, and inclusive growth in the digital economy,” Finance Minister Aurangzeb, who is the chairman of the PCC, was quoted as saying in a statement released by Saqib’s office.
Saylor, one of the world’s most prominent corporate bitcoin investors, welcomed Pakistan’s move to explore digital assets, the statement added.
“Pakistan has many brilliant people. It also has commitment and clarity needed by businesses globally … Bitcoin is the strongest asset for long-term national resilience,” Saylor said during the meeting, according to the statement, adding that emerging markets like Pakistan could benefit from early adoption of blockchain finance.
Saylor also reportedly praised Pakistan’s efforts to take a “forward-looking, innovation-friendly stance” in the global digital economy and welcomed the opportunity to advise and support ongoing developments in the country related to digital assets.
Saylor’s company, Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, is the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, reportedly holding about 582,000 BTC valued at over $62 billion as of June 2025. The company’s market capitalization has risen from $1.2 billion to over $105 billion since it adopted bitcoin as a core asset in 2020.
