ISLAMABAD: Finance ministry on Wednesday said that the incumbent government has paid an interest of Rs 5700 billion on the loans taken by the previous regimes, ARY NEWS reported.
Sharing details of the debt, the finance ministry said that the amount of debt rose owing to failed economic policies of the previous governments as they mainly focused on short-term loans.
“An increase of 47 percent in debt payment during the incumbent tenure was due to the previous loans as the government paid Rs5700 interest on them,” the ministry said.
It further blamed the previous governments for intentionally stabilizing the rupee at a lower rate, which led to a severe economic crisis.
“A change in the exchange rate in the incumbent tenure also led to the increase in debts by Rs3000 billion,” the spokesman said adding that the primary loss witnessed a rose of Rs 2,500 billion owing to the wrong policies of the previous governments.
It is pertinent to mention here that Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Monday said that the masses should know that the incumbent government has not acquired loans to buy properties instead it was aimed at paying the interest of the previous debts.
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Speaking during the Senate session, the finance minister said that they had to rush to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address a financial crisis owing to the previous debts.
“The previous government’s policy to lower the dollar rate intentionally had hurt the country’s economy badly,” he said adding that the past governments had to inject dollars from the country’s reserves to maintain its rate at low prices in the market.
