LAHORE - The Anti-Debt Campaigners in Pakistan on Sunday urged the governments and International Financial Institutions to cancel all foreign debts of Pakistan, owed to bilateral and multilateral creditors, besides an immediate freeze on foreign debt repayments of Pakistan. They urged the lenders to extend Pakistan grants, rather than loans, which were essential for Pakistan to develop the means to withstand recent flood like disasters in future. They said it was vital that desperately needed emergency aid was not effectively swallowed up in debt repayments and a freeze on such payments must be called immediately. Talking to the media here on Sunday the Campaign for Abolition of Third World Debt International member from Belgium Stephanie Jaqoumont, who is on Pakistan visit these days to show her solidarity with Pakistan Anti-Debt Campaigners, urged her government to cancel the loans of Pakistan. She said that CADTM every year organizes an International Debt Week from Oct 7-17. Expressing solidarity with the Pakistani nation the committee this year has decided to mark Oct 14 as an Anti-Debt Day for Pakistan and suggested a slogan Shout For Pakistan-Cancellation of Debt in this regard. She said Pakistan owes $34 million to Belgium as bilateral debt. While Belgium government response to Pakistans flood appeal is really poor, she said adding that it has pledged just $2.8 million. She demanded of her government to cancel Pakistans total debt in this hour of need, when 20 million flood-hit Pakistani people need this money to be spent on them. She said that this is honour for Pakistani nation that a voice is being raised in favour of Pakistan and against the tyrannies of the international institutions all over the world. On this occasion, Abdul Kahliq, Focal Person of the Campaign for Abolition of Third World Debt Pakistan (CADTM) said the current external debt of Pakistan stands at $ 55 billion. That figure will jump to $73 billion in 2015-16, as debts that were rescheduled after 9/11, in exchange for Pakistans co-operation in the war on terror, will come back into action, he added. He observed that besides this, Pakistan is paying over $3 billion on debt servicing every year on average. As far the FY 2010, this amount is over $5 billion, which Pakistan will be paying to its creditors amid 20 million people crying for most urgent basic needs; food, clothes, shelter, health and education, he pointed out. He said that major portion of Pakistan foreign debts was obtained during the dictatorial regimes-the martial law of General Ayub, General Yahya, General Zia and Gen Musharraf. About 80 per cent of the total foreign debt was contracted during dictatorial and autocratic regimes. He maintained that the people of Pakistan did not benefit from the foreign loans provided to General Ziaul Haq, as it was spent on building the 'infrastructure for running the Afghan Jehad. He said: In most of the cases, these loans were spent against the wishes of the people and benefited only a specific segment of society. This debt is illegitimate and is not binding on the people of Pakistan and the current democratically elected government has legitimate right to refuse these loans.