Chinese loans not behind Pakistan’s economic crisis: FO

Islamabad: Pakistan has said that Chinese loans were not the reason for Pakistan’s economic crisis.

Speaking at a weekly news briefing here, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch maintained that Pakistan’s total public debt relating to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects is a small percentage of its total debt.

Commenting on a New York Times article claiming that Pakistan is mired in a deep economic crisis that it cannot climb out of partly because of the need to pay billions of dollars in loans to China for infrastructure and other projects, she remarked: “First, I would like to underline that China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a transformational project that has contributed positively and transparently to Pakistan’s national development. It enjoys support and popularity in all provinces of Pakistan and across the political divide in Pakistan. We also believe that regional economic connectivity will provide a critical stimulus for creating broad based growth across the region.”

She added: “CPEC is a long term project that has helped address development gaps in energy, infrastructure, industrialization and job creation. As we have said in the past, Pakistan’s total public debt relating to CPEC projects is a small percentage of its total debt. Moreover, the public debt obtained from China has longer maturity periods with low interest rates.”

The claims made by some commentators regarding Pakistan’s debt obligations relating to CPEC, are therefore not based on facts, she contended.

Baloch reaffirmed that Pakistan remains committed to provision of full security to all Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan, and this is an important priority for Pakistan.