In a bid to secure its plunging economy, Pakistan has been desperately trying to garner more investments and bailout packages from various entities.

The huge debt pile-up, however, would gradually force a slowdown in new projects that may push the country into a deeper economic crisis.

Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to send its team this month for suggesting ways and means curtail the yawning budget deficit being faced by cash-strapped Pakistan.

Earlier in July, the global money-lender had approved a six billion US dollars&nbsp;loan to Pakistan, which is facing significant economic challenges in the backdrop of the country's large fiscal deficits and loose monetary policies.

The IMF team will discuss fiscal issues with special focus to restrict the target of primary deficit within the desired limits, according to Pakistani media reports.

In addition, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Yao Jing, has also reportedly announced that Beijing is planning to invest one billion US dollars in development projects in Pakistan, especially the CPEC that connects Gwadar Port in Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province.

"Pakistan borrowed $16B from abroad in the 2018-19 fiscal year to avoid running out of foreign currency. 42 per cent&nbsp;of that, or $6.7B, came from China. The government also approached IMF, which in July approved a $6B bailout," Jeff M. Smith, a research scholar from South Asia-Heritage Foundation, said on Twitter.

"The huge debt pile is forcing a slowdown in new projects," Smith added. Previously, the IMF had pointed out that dull progress in structural progress continued to hamper investment and allowed "inefficient state-owned entities (SOEs) to linger and a large informal economy to expand".

Citing Pakistan's finance ministry's documents, Express Tribune reported that foreign loan disbursements between July 2018 and April 2019 of the current financial year showed loans for the Karachi Nuclear Power Plants, known as K2 and K3, and China SAFE deposits as part of federal debt obligations.

Also, countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia have given bailout packages to the cash-strapped country in a bid to tackle its ballooning balance-of-payments crisis.

The annual fiscal deficit of Pakistan rose to the highest in the last three decades at 8.9 per cent for the financial year 2018-19. The fiscal deficit is a difference between the revenues and expenditures of the federal government.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was elected on an anti-corruption plank and a pledge to end austerity measures, had vowed to improve the depleting economic situation of the cash-strapped country.

In fact, the opposite has happened. In reality, prices of gas and oil products and electricity in Pakistan have risen considerably, burning a hole in the common man's pocket. Pakistan had received the first tranche of the loan worth $991.4 million from the IMF in May.

In a bid to secure its plunging economy, Pakistan has been desperately trying to garner more investments and bailout packages from various entities. The huge debt pile-up, however, would gradually force a slowdown in new projects that may push the country into a deeper economic crisis.

In a bid to secure its plunging economy, Pakistan has been desperately trying to garner more investments and bailout packages from various entities. The huge debt pile-up, however, would gradually force a slowdown in new projects that may push the country into a deeper economic crisis. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to send its team this month for suggesting ways and means curtail the yawning budget deficit being faced by cash-strapped Pakistan. Earlier in July, the global money-lender had approved a six billion US dollars loan to Pakistan, which is facing significant economic challenges in the backdrop of the country's large fiscal deficits and loose monetary policies. The IMF team will discuss fiscal issues with special focus to restrict the target of primary deficit within the desired limits, according to Pakistani media reports. In addition, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Yao Jing, has also reportedly announced that Beijing is planning to invest one billion US dollars in development projects in Pakistan, especially the CPEC that connects Gwadar Port in Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province. "Pakistan borrowed $16B from abroad in the 2018-19 fiscal year to avoid running out of foreign currency. 42 per cent of that, or $6.7B, came from China. The government also approached IMF, which in July approved a $6B bailout," Jeff M. Smith, a research scholar from South Asia-Heritage Foundation, said on Twitter. "The huge debt pile is forcing a slowdown in new projects," Smith added. Previously, the IMF had pointed out that dull progress in structural progress continued to hamper investment and allowed "inefficient state-owned entities (SOEs) to linger and a large informal economy to expand". Citing Pakistan's finance ministry's documents, Express Tribune reported that foreign loan disbursements between July 2018 and April 2019 of the current financial year showed loans for the Karachi Nuclear Power Plants, known as K2 and K3, and China SAFE deposits as part of federal debt obligations. Also, countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia have given bailout packages to the cash-strapped country in a bid to tackle its ballooning balance-of-payments crisis. The annual fiscal deficit of Pakistan rose to the highest in the last three decades at 8.9 per cent for the financial year 2018-19. The fiscal deficit is a difference between the revenues and expenditures of the federal government. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was elected on an anti-corruption plank and a pledge to end austerity measures, had vowed to improve the depleting economic situation of the cash-strapped country. In fact, the opposite has happened. In reality, prices of gas and oil products and electricity in Pakistan have risen considerably, burning a hole in the common man's pocket. Pakistan had received the first tranche of the loan worth $991.4 million from the IMF in May.

More loans may lead to slowdown of Pakistan's crumbling economy

Chinese ambassador to Pakistan has said he believes that Pakistan's joining of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will bring more opportunities for the development of the two countries as well as for the SCO.

Ambassador Yao Jing made the statement during a recent interview with the China Central Television (CCTV) in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan.

"I think the SCO attaches great importance to cooperation regarding regional security. The greatest challenge to the region supposedly is terrorism, or the three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism. Terrorism is a regional issue and an international issue per se. It requires the largest and widest scale of participation. I believe Pakistan will make a positive contribution in this regard," he said.

In addition to the contribution that Pakistan may bring to the SCO, he also noted that the SCO will be a platform for furthering relations between China and Pakistan.

"We should reflect upon the course of development of China-Pakistan relations. Based on the reflection, we combine the needs of the Belt and Road Initiative. We need to combine our practical needs with historical experience. Then we need to apply them altogether to a broader platform for regional cooperation, including the SCO. In this way, we can promote what we learnt from the development of relations between China and Pakistan, the advantage of the relations, and what works best for the two countries' cooperation on the platform," said Yao.

Yao pointed out that to further the two countries’ relations through the platform including the SCO, China should incorporate the concept of building a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared destiny for mankind, which is known as the concept of the two buildings.

"We should incorporate the new concept of 'the two buildings' into [our reflection on] the new international situation, the new issues, new challenges presented. Keeping the concept in mind, on the one hand, we need to adhere to the Shanghai Spirit to build the new type of international relations on the basis of mutual trust and mutual benefit, with the principle of equal consultation and mutual respect," he commented.

"On the other hand, through economic and security cooperation, there will be more and more communication among peoples and mutual learning, acceptance and common development among civilizations, which echoes with the concept of building a community of shared destiny," he said.

The Shanghai Spirit -- the core value of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- has played a significant role in safeguarding regional security and promoting regional development.

The SCO's undergirding values, which features mutual trust, mutual respect, equality, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of shared development, was born together with the Shanghai Five mechanism, the precursor of the SCO.

Ambassador Yao Jing made the statement during a recent interview with the China Central Television (CCTV) in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan

Chinese ambassador to Pakistan has said he believes that Pakistan's joining of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will bring more opportunities for the development of the two countries as well as for the SCO. Ambassador Yao Jing made the statement during a recent interview with the China Central Television (CCTV) in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. "I think the SCO attaches great importance to cooperation regarding regional security. The greatest challenge to the region supposedly is terrorism, or the three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism. Terrorism is a regional issue and an international issue per se. It requires the largest and widest scale of participation. I believe Pakistan will make a positive contribution in this regard," he said. In addition to the contribution that Pakistan may bring to the SCO, he also noted that the SCO will be a platform for furthering relations between China and Pakistan. "We should reflect upon the course of development of China-Pakistan relations. Based on the reflection, we combine the needs of the Belt and Road Initiative. We need to combine our practical needs with historical experience. Then we need to apply them altogether to a broader platform for regional cooperation, including the SCO. In this way, we can promote what we learnt from the development of relations between China and Pakistan, the advantage of the relations, and what works best for the two countries' cooperation on the platform," said Yao. Yao pointed out that to further the two countries’ relations through the platform including the SCO, China should incorporate the concept of building a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared destiny for mankind, which is known as the concept of the two buildings. "We should incorporate the new concept of 'the two buildings' into [our reflection on] the new international situation, the new issues, new challenges presented. Keeping the concept in mind, on the one hand, we need to adhere to the Shanghai Spirit to build the new type of international relations on the basis of mutual trust and mutual benefit, with the principle of equal consultation and mutual respect," he commented. "On the other hand, through economic and security cooperation, there will be more and more communication among peoples and mutual learning, acceptance and common development among civilizations, which echoes with the concept of building a community of shared destiny," he said. The Shanghai Spirit -- the core value of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- has played a significant role in safeguarding regional security and promoting regional development. The SCO's undergirding values, which features mutual trust, mutual respect, equality, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of shared development, was born together with the Shanghai Five mechanism, the precursor of the SCO.

Pakistan joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization to bring more opportunities for development

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More loans may lead to slowdown of Pakistan's crumbling economy

Pakistan joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization to bring more opportunities for development