ISLAMABAD – Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday that the government is considering an option to import oil from Russia.
“If India can buy oil from Russia, why can’t we. We can also import it,” Dar said while addressing the Chartered Accountant Association Conference.
Days after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Russian President Vladmir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand in September, reports emerged that Moscow had expressed readiness to supply petrol to Pakistan on deferred payments.
A major chunk of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves is utilized to import petroleum products. However, the supply of oil on delayed payments will not only stablise the forex reserves but also save the country from defaulting on its international obligations regarding repayment of loans.
Ishaq Dar vowed to tackle the challenges to the national economy and replace the incumbent interest-based financial system with Islamic system.
While talking about grey listing of Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), he said that Pakistan had fully implemented the action plan.
He said that Pakistan will honour its commitment to the loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Dar also lashed out the PTI government, saying: “Who will invest in Pakistan when a head of the state tells world his country in in debt trap”.
Japan’s debt to GDP ratio is 257% and same in the US is also higher, but no one tarnish his country’s image in the world, he said.
