Govt links defence imports with finance ministry's nod

ISLAMABAD: The dilapidated condition of the economy has started to affect the defence needs of the country as the incumbent government has linked imports related to defence with the finance ministry’s nod, ARY News reported on Monday, citing sources.

The unprecedented move in the country’s history has been taken by the government due to deterioration in the external sector amid a constant fall in exports and foreign exchange reserves.

Sources said that the finance ministry revised its guidelines for defence imports in light of the depleting foreign exchange reserves. They added that it would be mandatory to seek the permission of the finance ministry’s external finance wing before opening a letter of credit (LC) for imports against the regular defence budget.

Pakistan is taking several measures to keep the rupee stable against the dollar and for this purpose thousands of the LCs of the companies and the importers are pending.

Currently, the foreign reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan stand at $6.9 billion.

Last week, Saudi Arabia extended the term for a $3 billion deposit it had made to Pakistan’s central bank, announced SBP.

“The SFD extended the term for the deposit provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the amount of $3 billion to the SBP,” SBP had said in a statement shared on its official Twitter handle.