SBP chief says Pakistan not considering bilateral debt restructuring

KARACHI: Central bank governor said the country is not considering a bilateral debt restructuring, sources that attended an analyst briefing following the monetary policy decision told Reuters.

“As of now there is no plan to enter into any debt restructuring,” the sources cited State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Jameel Ahmad as saying.

“Absolutely no doubt about it. We are not considering any such plan, so there is no question of what will be the haircut,” he added.

After presenting the federal budget for FY 2024, finance minister Ishaq Dar had said that the government is working on the possibility of restructuring its bilateral debt regardless of whether it successfully completes its IMF review.

“We’ll see how things go,” Dar had told reporters, a day after releasing the budget for the 2023-24 financial year, referring to whether to restructure or reprofile debt as Pakistan continues to speak with the IMF about its stalled bailout funds.