Support CADTM Pakistan and strengthen its campaign for the abolition of Pakistan’s foreign debt

Pakistan has recently gone through unprecedented floods which have affected almost 21 million people. Immediate needs for the displaced people living in camps are huge (drinking water, medical care, food, etc.) and the sums pledged by the “international community” for emergency relief are far from being sufficient: the UN asked for $460 million dollars and only got 294 million.

Reconstruction will be one of the greatest challenges as the scale of damage is tremendous : houses, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, power lines, communication infrastructure, etc. have been destroyed. Another huge challenge is agriculture. The floods, which have hit particularly fertile lands, have swept crops and livestock away, thus making food prices skyrocket and jeopardizing the country’s food security and sovereignty.

The donor countries and the International Financial Institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) intend to benefit from Pakistan’s reconstruction since they have promised to increase their lending to the country. The new loans are added to an already high amount of debts ($54 billion), the majority of which is “odious debt” since it was contracted during Musharraf’s previous dictatorial regime.

It is absolutely necessary to demand another response to the crisis in Pakistan. It cannot be accepted that in such circumstances the Government of Pakistan continue repaying its creditors (every year $3 billion is dedicated to debt servicing) and mortgage the future of its citizens by going into more debt. The immediate and unconditional abolition of Pakistan’s foreign debt is a matter of international justice and solidarity.

CADTM Pakistan, together with other social movements, associations, trade unions and political parties |1|, has launched a campaign calling for the immediate suspension of repayments, the refusal of new loans and the unconditional abolition of Pakistan’s foreign debt. The campaign has already received national and international support. However it is necessary to raise awareness in Pakistan and elsewhere in order to intensify the pressure put on lending countries and institutions as well as on the Government of Pakistan. |2|

To bring your support to CADTM Pakistan, make a donation to CADTM Belgium. All the money collected will be transferred to CADTM Pakistan.
You can make a donation by international transfer to CADTM’s bank account, with the following mention : “support CADTM Pakistan” IBAN : BE06 0012 3183 4322 –Swift Code : GEBA BE BB

Thank you for your support!