Govt has Requested Saudi Arabia not to Withdraw Deposits Given to SBP: Miftah

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail Wednesday confirmed that Pakistan has requested Saudi Arabia not to withdraw its deposits worth $3 billion given to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Addressing a press conference in Karachi, the minister said that the government has also requested Saudi Arabia to enhance the $1.2 billion oil facility. He said that the Saudi government has given a favorable response in this regard. Last year, Saudi Arabia deposited $3 billion in the State Bank of Pakistan to help support its foreign reserves. In addition, Pakistan had also signed an agreement worth $1.2 billion for the import of petroleum products on deferred payments. Criticizing the previous government on the agreement it stuck with the International Monetary Fund, Miftah said that the prices of diesel and petrol would have been significantly higher under the agreement. The minister claimed that if the conditions the PTI-government agreed were met today, diesel would be priced at Rs. 295 per liter instead of the current price of Rs. 145 per liter. He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “was and is resisting” these pacts. He alleged that the Imran Khan-led government made different promises to the people while agreeing to altogether different conditions abroad (with the IMF). The minister also blamed the previous government for its mismanagement in the energy sector and said that despite surplus production capacity the country had to face loadshedding due to the incompetence of the PTI government. He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz and Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan had “ended loadshedding” during the Eid holidays.