Protest against debt trap and selling off national assets

KARACHI, July 31: A large number of citizens and civil society members here on Sunday demanded of the government to stop selling off precious national assets for peanuts and come out of the debt trap of foreign lenders.
As per details, Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) organized a symbolic hunger strike at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) against the blanket sell off the precious national assests.
On this occasion, noted economist DrShahidaWizarat in his her message said that Pakistani governments go to the IMF for budgetary support without studying the sustainability of debts. Pakistan’s debts have become unsustainable since 2019, which means that the country will not be able to service these debts in future and result in default.
DrWizarat, who is President Independent Economists and Policy Practitioners, said that GOP’s total preoccupation is on raising revenues and foreign exchange through borrowing from the IMF, bilateral sources and selling profitable and strategic organizations. No Pakistani government has made any attempt to cut non essential and wasteful expenditures.
Federal Government is composed of 62 cabinet members who live like royalty, take huge delegations on foreign trips, have not cut down import of luxury goods, while the people of Pakistan can’t sleep due to rain water flooding their homes. And it is these poor people who cannot afford proper food, housing, health and education facilities for themselves that are having to maintain this royalty.
IMF conditionality of making the SBP autonomous has rendered the Government of Pakistan (GOP) subservient, not only to the SBP but to the IMF and the US government on account of its subordination to the IMF.
This arrangement has provided a perfect opportunity to the US to deepen Pakistan’s economic crisis, through orchestrating the free fall of the Rupee and intensifying the recession by trying to fight cost push inflation through the use of demand pull inflationary strategies,ie increasing the lending rate
Pakistani governments have also been trying to generate resources through the sale of strategic profitable cos to foreign investors. The Shahbaz Sharif cabinet has approved the privatization of Pakistan’s strategic assets without having to follow laid down procedures, paving the way for loot and plunder of Pakistan’s strategic and profitable assets to foreigners.
Predators in Pakistan’s corridors of power have joined hands with international muggers to deprive Pakistan of its profitable. Pakistani governments have also been trying to generate resources through the sale of strategic profitable cos to foreign investors. – SABAH