Pakistan owes India Rs 10,000 crore in loans since before Partition, claims PIL. What Modi govt, HC said

Pakistan owes India Rs 10,000 crore. India gave loans to Pakistan worth Rs 300 crore, both pre- and post-Partition. And now, the unpaid amount has climbed to Rs 10,000 crore, including interest. This was the claim reportedly made in a petition to the Delhi High Court.

The public interest litigation, or PIL, was filed by a person named Om Sehgal. He reportedly argued that Pakistan has been using Indian money to attack India, and the Union government must take up the matter of repayment with Islamabad immediately.

The petitioner further claimed that files pertaining to loans given before Partition were misplaced from the Finance Ministry. Sehgal reportedly claimed he had over 100 letters corroborating the fact.

The petition reportedly said, "This money belongs to the people of India. Just after partition, around Rs 20 crore was given by India to Pakistan and with that money they attacked Kashmir. Thousands of people were killed but our money is still with Pakistan. It has now come to around Rs 1 trillion. In Pakistani currency it comes to Rs 2.5 trillion. Each bullet that our soldiers face is paid by our money. I can't say anything about political parties who are in government but request the court to pass directions."

The Delhi High Court however refused to entertain the PIL. A two-judge bench reportedly said that it was a government policy matter, and therefore the court cannot pass directions.

On behalf of the government, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma reportedly argued that the petitioner might be right in his sentiments, but the matter should be left to the government.