Re: Country twice as indebted as in June 2008
These countries have sound economies, and mostly stellar credit ratings. They have the ability to pay off their debts. Pakistan on the other hand holds a junk status. Pakistan’s debts are paid off by taking more debts. Our so called GDP figures include money that comes in the form of aid and loans as well. Currency devaluation may have contributed to the bloating of the debt figure, but the article also says that domestic borrowing has gone up by 137%.
Pak govt survives with handouts from the US, and US engineered loans from IMF and world bank. At the ground level, Pak economy survives thanks to overseas Pakistanis and their hawalas, which run their families. Local Pakistani businesses pay meaningless taxes, and that is how they survive.
The fact that this government has put Pakistan in the fiscal gutter is no secret. Greece suffered from a similar problem, with a huge and overspending government, corrupt politicians, and look where they stand. Their pants are down, and they acknowledge it. PPP government thinks that they can solve problems merely by pretending they dont exist.