UN paper suggests Pakistan should immediately suspend debt repayment

Islamabad, Sep 23 (PTI) Pakistan, which has been struggling with the worst floods in the past 30 years, should suspend international debt repayments and restructure loans with creditors as the unprecedented natural calamity has added to the cash-strapped country’s financial crisis, a media report cited a UN policy memo as saying on Friday.

The memorandum shared by the UN Development Programme with the country's government suggested that Pakistan's creditors should consider debt relief so that policymakers can prioritise financing its disaster response over loan repayment, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities skyrocketed to Rs 59.7 trillion this year, a surge of Rs 11.9 trillion or 25 per cent compared to the preceding fiscal year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.