Foreign loan target missed amid major slippages
Pakistan received only about $9.8 billion in foreign loans and grants in the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year, far behind the annual target of $17.4bn, amid major slippages in raising international financial support. The disbursements appeared to be slowing down as the country received less than $204 million in foreign loans in March compared to $318m in February, according to official data. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said the government could materialise about $6.899bn in foreign economic assistance (FEA) in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, almost 39pc of the annual budget target, amid limited borrowing avenues in the wake of poor credit rating and adverse conditions in the global financial markets despite the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).