Haiti, a Latin American Country, has been grabbing the attention of the NewYork Times and recently was again in a headline for the overheated debate going on various forums, the doubling debt. The article revealed and traced back the money that had been used in Eiffel Tower, France and how Haiti had been the source of financing France forcefully. Back in 1825, France forced Haiti to make payments of around 30 million which counted as 6 times higher than Haiti annual revenue. Haiti was trapped to get a loan to meet the demand of France and gradually entered into the vicious circle of debt and got deeper into it. If Haiti would not have been forced to pay this amount to France, the economic growth might have reached to the level where now neighboring countries of Latin America are standing. Unfortunately, Haiti was slaved and exhausted and the potential to grow had been drained from Haiti to France.
Pakistan is now in a very similar situation like Haiti and got trapped in double debt. Since the inception, Pakistan had not been stable financially and needed to get support from the International Monetary Funds (IMF) for which it joined the IMF in 1950. Later, Pakistan went to the IMF for the first time back in 1958 and the series of IMF bailout packages with Pakistan had become normalized. From the years of different political and military era, Pakistan called numerous times for loan in 1958, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1988, 1993, 1997, 2008 and in 2019. The debt from $ 25 million has reached to $ 130.6 billion in December 2021. Pakistan could not get independence financially and had to align with the IMF policies. Nevertheless, how much more years are required by Pakistan to remain on the verge of IMF is not clear yet.
Either remain in a political rule or military rule, Pakistan still is not independent to devise its policies for economic, financial and political betterment. Neither Pakistan can rule out the IMF option since it is embedded into Pakistan’s political and economic system like Haiti. The trap may go deeper like Haiti and would have severe repercussions and frustration among the people of Pakistan. The difference, however, between Haiti and Pakistan is not opaque. The rule of IMF law has been maintained in each country.
