Pakistani Finance Minister says must avoid 'begging' IMF, other nations for loans

Karachi [Pakistan], February 13 (ANI): Pakistan's Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Saturday emphasised the need of reviving Pakistan's economy in order to avoid having to "beg" for loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other nations.
"We want to get out of the circle of repeatedly going to the IMF and other countries to beg for loans," the minister said while inaugurating the Kamyab Jawan Markaz at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries, reported The Express Tribune.
"Pakistan -- a country of more than 200 million people -- needs some drastic steps to improve its economy," he added.
In his address, he said that only three million people in the country paid their taxes. One million out of those three million pay withholding tax which means only two million people pay their taxes reported the newspaper.
The minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan in his visit to China had asked its leadership to help in populating the country's special economic zones by bringing in Chinese companies.
Notably, Imran Khan's China visit -- first in the last two years -- points to Islamabad's financial dependence on Beijing, especially as the West continues to ignore Pakistan.
The Imran Khan government is also considering requesting China to approve another loan to the tune of USD 3 billion in China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange, known as SAFE deposits.
His China visit has raised several questions on whether China has provided the much-needed funds that Pakistan needs.
However, both the governments are tight-lipped on this and one commentator observed that Khan had gone "seeking a loan, not a medal" to China.
The humongous difference between China and Pakistan's economies and the Sino-Pak ties equip the Chinese to explore and capture the Pakistani market at the cost of the local enterprises. (ANI)