Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the government will fulfill its external debt commitments including the repayment of a sukuk bond that’s due in the first week of December.
“There is no chance of default. Repayment will be done on time,” he said in a televised message on Saturday, adding that arrangements for debt repayments for next year have been done “in principle.”
Dar estimated the country’s current account deficit would be at $6 billion at the end of June 2023, half that of an earlier projection. He said the deficit is expected to be less than $400 million in October.
The finance minister also rejected the possibility of fuel shortages in the country amid political uncertainty triggered by former premier Imran Khan’s months-long campaign for snap elections to be held.
Khan announced on Saturday he will hold a rally in Islamabad on Nov. 26 as the last leg of the protest campaign.