One of the most obvious legacies of a crisis-ridden economy is a sharp increase in public debt. The country’s debt has grown since 2007, with successive governments making huge borrowings, pushing the country towards a debt trap.
As of March 2015, the total debt liabilities of the country stood at Rs19,299.2 billion. Every Pakistani now owes a debt of about Rs101,338. This figure was Rs90,772 in 2013. It was estimated at Rs80,894 in 2012 and was only Rs37,170 in early 2008.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his election campaign made tall claims that on assuming power he will get rid of the ‘cancer of debts’ and promised to break the ‘begging bowl’, however, there is little evidence of measures towards freedom from debt, said political economist Dr Qais Aslam.
The government proved no different from its predecessors and started knocking on the doors of international lenders even more vigorously, he added.
In a country where 60% of the population lives below the poverty line and 58% faces food insecurity, this additional burden means more miseries for the generations to come.