According to PM Sharif, “We are not asking for any kind of measure [such as] a rescheduling or a moratorium.” In opposition to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s proposal to request a loan rescheduling, the Prime Minister stated, “We are asking for additional funds.” Mr. Dar stated on October 15 that Pakistan will attempt to reschedule $27 billion in non-Paris Club debt, the majority of which is owed to China, but would not seek reductions as part of any adjustment.
Prime Minister Sharif was quoted as saying that Islamabad was not attempting to reschedule its external debt, which is estimated to be worth $130 billion, but that it did require “huge sums of money” for “mega undertakings” like the reconstruction of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.
PM Sharif was cited as saying, “There is a gap, and a very serious gap, which is widening by the day between our demands and what we have received.”
The prime minister stated that Pakistan had been using public funds to assist evacuated families and purchase supplies including tents, food packs, clean water, and medications. He also stated that Pakistan will “seek additional funding from wherever we can.”
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has pledged to host a donors’ conference to support Pakistan’s fundraising efforts, according to the British newspaper. The conference is yet to have a date determined. It will probably happen in November in Paris, according to PM Sharif.
