Pak suffers USD 107 bn economic losses due to terrorism

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has suffered at least USD 107 billion losses due to terrorism plaguing the country for well over a decade, according to official data. The data was part of the annual national Economic Survey issued by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday. During the last 14 years, the direct and indirect cost incurred by Pakistan due to incidents of terrorism is estimated at USD 107 billion or Rs 8.7 trillion, according to the survey. On the positive side, it showed that terrorism related losses have come down in the fourth straight year as the security situation improved due to the successive military operations. According to the document, the losses fell by about 32 per cent during the first nine months to Rs 457.93 billion (USD 4.53 billion) than to Rs 681.68 billion (USD 6.63 billion) in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Pakistan's losses to its economy are calculated by taking into account the loss of lives, economic opportunities and the damage to the country's infrastructure. The Economic Survey is released a day before the national budget. -TOI