New Delhi: Pakistan has been busy playing 'flag war' despite the critical financial status of the country and has decided to keep PKR 40 crore aside for a flag-raising ceremony in Lahore.

Writing in Khalsavox, Antariksh Singh underlined how despite a faltering economy, the South Asian nation has decided to hoist its national flag on a 500-foot-tall flag mast on Independence Day on August 14 this year.

This announcement was made immediately after Pakistan received a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to try stabilising its ailing economy.

Punjab province is deciding to concentrate its efforts on the flag-raising ceremony at Liberty Chowk in Lahore despite the dire financial situation of the nation, which must amass at least PKR 2,000 crore within the next two years to pay its foreign loan repayments, Khalsavox reported.

This act of misguided patriotism brings to light the country's dubious fiscal policies in the midst of its escalating debt crisis, Antariksh Singh writes in Khalsavox.

The concerning action comes soon after the IMF approved a USD 3 billion bailout to support Pakistan in avoiding a default on its debt repayments. These funds, which were distributed over nine months, were not meant to pay for a flag-raising competition with India, but rather to support the country's economic stability, the writer opines, adding that Pakistan's choice to spend its meagre resources on a massive flag seems to be a tragic diversion from the pressing need for its economy to be rebuilt.

According to Khalsavox, Pakistan received financial assistance from the UAE and Saudi Arabia totalling USD 1 billion and USD 2 billion, respectively, to strengthen its depleting reserves in addition to the IMF's relief.