Pakistan’s Total Debt Hits Rs 71 Trillion
As of June 2024, Pakistan’s total debt has reached Rs 71 trillion, according to a recent report by ARY News.
The breakdown of this debt shows that 66% is domestic and 34% is foreign. Specifically, domestic debt amounts to over Rs 47 trillion, while foreign debt surpasses Rs 24 trillion. The Ministry of Finance has also released a debt repayment schedule for the coming years:
– 2024: Rs 18,700 billion
– 2025: Rs 8,700 billion
– 2026: Rs 7,600 billion
– 2027: Rs 4,300 billion
Future repayments include:
– 2028: Rs 6,000 billion
– 2029: Rs 8,400 billion
– 2030: Rs 2,400 billion
– 2031: Rs 2,600 billion
Notably, over Rs 1 trillion of the debt is due for repayment in 2031.
In addition, the government has announced a 3-year economic plan to increase provincial shares in the federal budget from 39.4% to 48.7% by 2027. The plan allocates Rs 8,921 billion for 2025-26 and Rs 10,350 billion for 2026-27 under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.
The current fiscal year will see 39.4% of the budget transferred to provinces. The government also plans to revise the resource distribution method under the NFC.
The report also highlights that total debt is projected to rise to Rs 79,731 billion by the end of the current fiscal year, with local loans increasing by about Rs 7,671 billion and foreign loans by Rs 818 billion.
