Islamabad: Alarming news as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday reported that Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities spiked to reach Rs62.4 trillion after the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year, i.e. FY2023.
According to the provisional report by the central bank, compared to the same period last year, this year, the total debt and liabilities increased by 23.7%. During the three months of the first quarter of FY23, the debt counter jumped by Rs2.76 trillion to reach Rs62.46 trillion from Rs59.7 trillion.
The central bank, however, did not give the percentage of Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities in terms of the size of the country’s GDP.
The spike in Pakistan’s debt during the period under review is due to the jump in its external debt that jumped to Rs26.5 trillion – an addition of Rs6.8 trillion or 35% compared to last year.
Excluding the IMF loans, the federal government’s external debt increased to Rs18 trillion within one year. There was a net increase of Rs1.3 trillion in external debt, largely caused by the depreciation of the rupee and the country’s efforts to build foreign currency reserves via borrowing.
Pakistan’s total debt, liabilities reach Rs59.7 trillion at the end of FY22
At the end of the last fiscal year, Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities, including internal and external, had reached Rs59.7 trillion.
According to the central bank, at the end of FY22 in June, the total debt and liabilities had increased by Rs 11.9 trillion and reached Rs 59.7 trillion from FY21’s Rs 47.8 trillion – a staggering 25pc year-on-year increase.
Loans from the IMF increased from Rs 1.16 trillion last year to reach Rs 1.4 trillion at the end of FY22, the report had mentioned in its report.
