PPP government tried hard to find cash through “Friends of Pakistan” gatherings, but couldn’t get enough support from our Middle Eastern “friends”. Now they are coming to our “help” again, as Nawaz is again in power.
While many Pakistanis would be delighted to hear about this bailout from our Saudi friends, it would be foolish to assume that this help has no strings attached. It means that Nawaz is again going to mirror the religious intolerant society of Saudis.
Bad signs for Pakistani society. Bad signs for plurality of Pakistani Muslims.
ISLAMABAD, May 22: With an ‘amiable’ government in place, Saudi Arabia is expected to extend a bailout package of about $15 billion to Pakistan’s highly indebted energy sector by supplying crude and furnace oil on deferred payment to enable it to resolve the chronic circular debt issue.
A senior government official said the Saudis had been taking reasonable interest in helping out the incoming PML-N government led by Nawaz Sharif.
They had extended a similar special package to Pakistan soon after it went nuclear in 1998 and faced international economic sanctions.
Between 1998 and 2002, Pakistan received $3.5 billion (Rs190 billion at the exchange rate at that time) worth of oil from Saudi Arabia on deferred payment, a major part of which was converted into grant.
According to the official, as soon as the PML-N emerged as the majority party after the May 11 elections, the Saudi ambassador in Islamabad sought a briefing on the country’s oil requirements from the foreign ministry before calling on prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif in Raiwind, Lahore.
He was immediately provided a position paper, the official said.
Pakistan expects about 100,000 barrels of crude oil and about 15,000 tons of furnace oil per day from Saudi Arabia on deferred payment for three years. The amount involved works out at about $12-15bn.
The facility can be utilised to reduce loadshedding in the short term and provide an opportunity in the medium term to restructure the power sector by minimising subsidies, eliminating circular debt, ensuring recovery from the public sector and reducing system losses to bring it to a self-sustainable level.
“During the package period, the PML-N government can resolve the electricity crisis and develop hydropower projects through a combination of public and private investments and bagasse-based power production by the sugar indu
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
This is Muhammad al Durrah in my avatar. In this picture he is cowering behind his father in the midst of gunfire. Moments later killed by Israeli bullets. Google the term "durrah israel" and you will get the story behind this pic.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
They didnt seem to give a rats arse about the twenty hours of misery the average Pakistani has been enduring for the past five years, but suddenly and miraculously, they have found their missing pocket books! What fortuitous coincidence! And then the fools in Pakistan will drool all over these sheiks, and line up to thank them for their generosity and goodwill toward their fellow brothers in Islam.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
Oil on deferred payments, at the end of the day it's another loan.
True. Very likely adding millions to our debt structure on a yearly basis for the next 30 years or so. Congratulations. Your grandkids are already in debt.
And quite possibly, say goodbye to Pak-Iran gas pipeline.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
The Saudi help funded our nuclear weapons. The Saudi help made sure the economy didn't tank in 1998. The Saudi help will this time around increase availability of electricity, that will effect the entire economy over the short and medium term. With actual energy available production will increase, employment will increase and so will income earned.
You can complain all you want about the Saudi hand playing a double game but notice the Chinese have done the same. The moment Nawaz Sharif came in to power the Chinese have offered to help our energy needs. When the PPP was in power they didn't bother to say anything.
The problem is not that these countries don't care for Pakistan. The problem is that they did not trust Zardari and the PPP. Rightly so because neither did the Americans. The problem is not Pakistan. The problem was the image of the PPP as being corrupt inable to govern and if any aid was provided it would go straight into Zardari's pockets.
This will benefit the average Pakistani. That is paramount.
Re: “$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government”: So what are the strings attache
^They didn’t trust Zardari..coz it would end up in his pockets?! So instead they are gonna trust the Sharifs…coz nothing ever goes into their pockets..is that right?
Awesome…just sink the country into more debt..that is what you need right now…I wonder how much of this $15 billion will ACTUALLY help the ppl and how much of it would actually help the coffers of Raiwind freaking palace!
I can’t stand these freaking countries that try to “help”, they just have to poke their nose where it does not belong!
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
Lets hope regardless of why they are giving the money that the money is actually spent on the people of Pakistan and not on the Raiwind mahal and the pockets of other corrupt people in nawaz family league.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
The Saudi help funded our nuclear weapons. The Saudi help made sure the economy didn't tank in 1998. The Saudi help will this time around increase availability of electricity, that will effect the entire economy over the short and medium term. With actual energy available production will increase, employment will increase and so will income earned.
You can complain all you want about the Saudi hand playing a double game but notice the Chinese have done the same. The moment Nawaz Sharif came in to power the Chinese have offered to help our energy needs. When the PPP was in power they didn't bother to say anything.
The problem is not that these countries don't care for Pakistan. The problem is that they did not trust Zardari and the PPP. Rightly so because neither did the Americans. The problem is not Pakistan. The problem was the image of the PPP as being corrupt inable to govern and if any aid was provided it would go straight into Zardari's pockets.
This will benefit the average Pakistani. That is paramount.
India have also promised to help decreasing load shedding by providing some electric... very good news for Pakistan
may not benefit the rich PTI supporters but will definitely benefit Pakistan and its average Pakistanis.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
India have also promised to help decreasing load shedding by providing some electric... very good news for Pakistan
may not benefit the rich PTI supporters but will definitely benefit Pakistan and its average Pakistanis.
'Rich' PTI supporters were never hurting from load shedding anyway. Most of them have generators in their homes, and dont even notice power outages.
NS is trying to score quick points by looking for bad solutions, to what everyone knows is a long term problem, and requires a long term solution.
There is only one good short term solution to decreasing load shedding, and that is reduction in power theft, and increase in bill recovery. But NS doesnt have the guts to go after the big fish, as many of his cronies are industry owners who dont pay all their bills. Moreover, some of the biggest defaulters are government organizations themselves.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
You all do know that the deferred payments for oil back in 1998 were turned into grants? Meaning we didn't even pay the Saudis back. The general perception amongst the Pakistani and international community is that Zardari is a corrupt swindler. While Nawaz Sharif is corrupt too, he is not as bad as Zardari. That is the impression provided by these actions of our friends, as Nawaz Sharif is not even in power yet but countries that have supported us in the past are back to helping us.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
people have had reservations on Saudi involvement in Pakistan's policy making, and rightly so, to some extent. but don't forget that energy is the need of the hour. if this opportunity is managed in a right way, it can help us rid of this crisis and build sustainable alternatives.
What govt needs now is careful planning for future and balancing foreign interference in Pakistan. to end the foreign interference we need economic independence, for economic independence we need industry revival, and for that we need energy and for that again we need foreign help like from Saudia and China. its a cycle, there is no quick solution to this.
Irrespective of who ruled the country, this was much needed. We thank Saudia for this and we thank China. They are doing what our self proclaimed great friend USA couldn't do. No need to be ungrateful, they are doing their bit, we need to do ours, by not wasting this opportunity to come out of this crisis and mend our ways so that we don't get back into it in future again.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
You all do know that the deferred payments for oil back in 1998 were turned into grants? Meaning we didn't even pay the Saudis back.
Not all of it was a grant. Most of it was on deferred payments. And at the end of the day, it is all about propping the economy on its feet....and that cannot be done through loans and loans. Pakistan currently resembles one big sub prime mortgage, and the government needs to make some difficult and unpopular decisions to get out of this mess. History tells us that when our politicians get such grants/loans, they forget the bigger picture, and only concentrate on the short term.
Power shortage in the mid 90s was much less than what it is now, and by that token, the oil grants given in NS's second tenure should have produced enough surplus capacity to be able to sustain growth for a couple of decades. But it didn't happen.
Problem is, our politicians are all selfish and want to run programs that will bear fruit within their tenures, without regard to what happens after that....as for them, its all about taking direct credit for this, that and the other. No one's better at it than NS.
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
Lets hope regardless of why they are giving the money that the money is actually spent on the people of Pakistan and not on the Raiwind mahal and the pockets of other corrupt people in nawaz family league.
It is Saudi money , Not chanda looted from Pakistanis on the name of Charity .
Re: "$15 billion Saudi bailout for Nawaz government": So what are the strings attache
It is Saudi money , Not chanda looted from Pakistanis on the name of Charity .
Money looted from Pakistanis goes to the chawal presdients account in switzerland. That is how a seller of cinema tickets in black becomes millionaire.
