FIA ordered to bring Nawaz Sharif back

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed that no legal means should be spared to bring former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif back from the United Kingdom. This important decision was taken in a meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan here. It has been decided to write a fresh letter to the British government for the repatriation of Nawaz Sharif. In the light of the prime minister’s instructions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been tasked with bringing Nawaz back, local media reports.

Expressing their indignation, the federal ministers said instead of admitting their mistakes, the PML-N leaders were making the national institutions controversial. The federal cabinet was informed that the government was spending around $10 billion per annum on debt repayment as against around $5.5 billion paid by the previous government.

The cabinet was given a detailed briefing about the country’s debt and repayment during the fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020. The meeting was informed that as the PTI government inherited Rs3 trillion (Rs3,000 billion) debt, it had to take more loans for debt servicing and to save the country from default.

The cabinet was told that the government had received $24 billion as a foreign loan, including $2 billion taken during the interim government. It was informed that during the fiscal year 2019, the public debt registered an increase of Rs770 billion, mainly due to the restoration of the true value of the rupee.
The cabinet was told that the public exchequer had a hit of Rs100 billion in terms of revenue due to COVID-19; Rs210 billion was utilized for repayment of the previous government’s debt, whereas Rs100 billion was reserved by the government as a cash buffer.

With an increase in public debt declining to Rs350 billion in 2020, the primary deficit decreased from Rs150 billion in 2019 to Rs100 billion in 2020, it was informed. The cabinet was told that for the first time in the last 12 years, the primary surplus until March 2020 was Rs20 billion before the COVID-19.

The meeting stressed strict implementation of the protective measures against coronavirus including the use of face masks. About ongoing reforms in the energy sector, especially bringing down the circular debt, the cabinet was told that if the present government had not taken various measures, the annual circular debt which was Rs450 billion in the fiscal year 2018, would have swollen to Rs853 billion and Rs1,610 billion in the fiscal years 2020 and 2023, respectively.

The cabinet was informed that the government’s negotiations with Generation Companies (GENCOs) and agreements with the IPPs would help save public money of Rs100 billion and Rs61.6 billion, respectively, over the next three years.

It was further told that as a result of various measures, an amount of Rs77 billion was saved in FY 2019. The cabinet approved flight operations of British Airline Virgin Atlantic between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

The cabinet accorded one-time approval for pre-shipment inspection for the agencies regarding the import of wheat. The cabinet also accorded in-principle approval to the proposed visa policy regarding Afghanistan. The meeting also approved the appointment of Amna Bibi as a Federal Government Analyst for the National Control Laboratory for Biological Drugs under Section 16 of the Drugs Act 1976.