November 16, 2001	Friday	Shaba'an 29, 1422

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KARACHI, Nov 15: Pakistan’s military debt is showing a steady decline in last four years in actual amount and also as a ratio against total external liabilities indicating that government is servicing its defence liabilities regularly.

From $1,006 million in fiscal 1998, Pakistan’s military debt has been provisionally estimated at $825 million in fiscal year 01 by the State Bank of Pakistan in its annual report of 2000-2001 released late last month.

In fact it was SBP’s annual report of 1999-00 released in first week of November last year that revealed for the first time in history Pakistan’s military debt amounting to $958 million, which was 3.53 per cent of $27.65 billion of public and publicly guaranteed debt.

In last one year, the government has paid $133 million to bring down the outstanding military debt from $958 to $825 million. Its ratio against public and publicly guaranteed debt has come down to 3.1 per cent.

Pakistan’s outstanding military debt in 1999 fiscal year was $1,004 million, which was 3.73 per cent of total $26,904 million debt. In 1998 the military debt was $1,006 million and was 3.79 per cent of the total debt.

The SBP report is silent on the source from where military debts have been obtained and does not provide any information on its terms and rate of returns.