The Pakistan Business Council (PBC), a business policy advocacy platform, has urged the government to seek “professional help” to renegotiate Pakistan's sovereign debts.
Pakistan is currently in the midst of a financial crunch with policymakers running from pillar to post to secure additional funds for a country reeling from flood disaster.
Authorities in Islamabad and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are also engaged in discussions over the 9th review of the Extended Fund Facility.
The country is also struggling to meet its external financing obligations in the face of low foreign exchange reserves that barely covered a month of imports, and is also beset by decades-high inflation that has slowed down its economy.
The PBC, established by 14 of Pakistan's largest private-sector businesses, said Pakistan’s solvency should be pursued on duel tracks.
“Renegotiate sovereign debts beyond rollovers to forgiveness and find fresh foreign exchange injection,” it said in a tweet post on Sunday.
“The former requires professional help. The latter includes the privatization of RLNG plants.
“But foremost start conserving fuel immediately,” it added.
Last week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the IMF wanted to see not only the previous quarter but also the next three quarters, besides how the country would meet the $16 billion reconstruction and rehabilitation phase of floods.
“IMF wants to see not only the previous quarter but also the next three quarters of the current fiscal year,” adding he is ready to provide them with whatever is reality as of now. He said that now Fund also wants Pakistan to demonstrate how it would meet the $16 billion demand for the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase of floods.
The South Asian country is also seeking financial help from Saudi Arabia, which will include doubling Riyadh's current deferred oil payment facility to $2.4 billion per year.
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