Rushing to Riyadh

DELAYING the presentation of the budget by yet another day, Prime Minister Gilani accompanied by several Ministers and an 80-member delegation has reached Madina to hold talks with Saudi King Abdullah. Mr Zardari has joined them to add a political dimension to the talks, which are supposed to concentrate basically on Pakistan's economic needs. With oil and food prices skyrocketing and the country facing a shortfall of $3 billion in current account, budget making would pose serious problems, all the more so when the government is committed to provide relief to the poverty stricken population waiting in a state of high expectation. Despite having reportedly arranged $2 billion in foreign assistance from a number of sources, it continues to suffer from financial crunch. With oil import being the largest contributor to Pakistan's import bill, adding $11billion during the current financial year, 40 percent more than last year's $7.9billion, it is understandable for the government to look for some sort of relief in oil imports. As oil price hits a new record of $138.5 and reports that it could reach $150 by July, the most urgent need is to seek oil under special financing arrangement known as Saudi Oil Facility (SOF) which Pakistan enjoyed for a number of years after 1998.