Islamabad
Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities spiked by Pakistani Rupees 12 trillion or 23.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the loan trance from the International Monetary Fund and the devaluation of the rupee pushed the numbers up significantly, The News International reported citing analysts.
In the fiscal year, 2022-2023, in July-September the debt and liabilities stood at Rs 62.46 trillion which is more than the same period of last fiscal year, accounting for Rs 50.49 trillion.
The country’s debt rose 24.7 per cent to Rs59.37 trillion, while total liabilities increased 23 per cent to Rs3.56 trillion.
Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities said the increase in the debt was mainly by external sources. Â Â Mostly the IMF loan tranche of USD 1.2 billion and the impact of the rupee depreciation on overall external debt.Â
The government’s domestic debt increased by 18.7 per cent to Rs 31.40 trillion. The foreign debt stood at Rs 17.99 trillion in July-September FY2023, 30.2 per cent up from a year earlier, according to the figures from the State Bank of Pakistan, according to The News International.
Total external debt and liabilities jumped 33.4 per cent to Rs 28.94 trillion. Managing debt obligations is one of the biggest challenges facing the government, said Mustafa Mustansir, head of research at Taurus Securities. However, there are concerns about the conclusion of the ninth review of the IMF’s bailout package. Although the date has not yet been set.
