Year: 2023

The independent Economic Advisory Group (EAG) is concerned that the recent National Security Council (NSC) statement has failed to address the challenges Pakistan is currently facing. The lack of emphasis on the need to address the increasing external debt servicing burden, and endorsing antiquated policies such as import substitution as a way forward, does not restore confidence. Winston Churchill is famously credited for saying, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” It is for policymakers to decide if they will use the ongoing crisis as an opportunity to transform…

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The pace of domestic debt accumulation further accelerated by 6 percent during this fiscal year (FY23) and reached an all-time high level of Rs 33 trillion mark end of November 2022. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the government’s domestic debt rose by 6 percent during the first five months of this fiscal year. Total domestic debt stocks reached historical level of Rs 32.929 trillion at the end of Nov 22 compared to Rs 31.037 trillion in June 22, depicting an increase of Rs 1.9 trillion. Year on…

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A traffic mess was witnessed on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Mauripur Road, Saddar and adjoining areas due to the protest organised by hundreds of residents of Lyari in protest over loadshedding of gas and electricity in their area. The protesters, mostly belonging to the Kutchhi community of Lyari, chanted slogans against the K-Electric and Sui Southern Gas Company. They said that the power utility resorted to up to 18-hour of loadshedding while there was no sign of gas in their area for 16 hours on a daily basis. Later, the protesters…

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At the launch of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) Roadmap for Pakistan, experts stressed the need for decarbonizing energy sector by reducing emissions, and increasing energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy, which they said is possible through vigorous advocacy and awareness campaigns across the country.  The launch was jointly organized by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Matthew Wittenstein, Section Chief, Energy Division, UNESCAP said that we are off…

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rising cost of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) have found themselves in a debt trap. In the past, the power sector used to be a key defaulter of payments to PSO on supply of furnace oil. Today, however, SNGPL is liable to pay PSO a whopping Rs396 billion. In March of last year, its dues stood at Rs277.8 billion and have been piling up ever since. This means that PSO’s receivables against SNGPL have almost doubled, as the company has…

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