Pakistan’s floods have halted any prospect of poverty reduction for the upcoming years. Surprisingly, 30% of Pakistan’s annual budget is currently spent on repayments to foreign creditors. Many feel that this money could and should be spent on rescue efforts and subsequent work to restore the country to the state it was before the floods. This is particularly so since much of the debt taken by Pakistan’s previous elites did little to help the poor.  

The story echoes that of the disaster in Haiti, after which civil society put pressure on governments to cancel Haiti’s debt. The Haiti campaign was successful, giving hope that a similar one for Pakistan should also succeed. We hope that can find out more and support the petition here.

Taavi Tillmann

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