Azma Bukhari denies claims of Punjab borrowing from SBP; data shows otherwise

LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari has strongly rejected recent media reports alleging that the Punjab government has borrowed Rs 405 billion from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). She called the claims “entirely false and based on a misunderstanding of financial matters.”

In a sharply worded statement, she said, “Punjab has not borrowed even a single rupee from the central bank… The amount mentioned in the report is actually the Punjab government’s investment in federal government T-bills, aimed at earning profit, not borrowing.”

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She described Punjab as a “surplus province” with more than Rs 1 trillion in its accounts, adding that there is no need for the provincial government to seek loans.

Refuting the credibility of the report, the minister stated, “The institutions mentioned are probably federal, not under Punjab’s jurisdiction. No provincial institution has taken any loans.”

Bukhari also pointed to the SBP Act of 2019, which prohibits both federal and provincial governments from borrowing directly from the central bank. She added that the said journalist behind the report failed to acknowledge this fact.

“It is surprising that the writer of the report does not even know this basic law,” she said. “A journalist who reports false and contrary to facts should be ashamed.”

The minister also warned that spreading such “irrelevant and misleading news” could have consequences, “We reserve the right to take legal action if such irresponsible reporting continues.”

SBP DATA SHOWS OTHERWISE

According to the Broad Money report, published by the SBP on August 19, and showing data updated until August 8, 2025 shows that the Punjab government has indeed borrowed Rs 405 billion from the central bank.

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Moreover, Sindh has borrowed Rs 15.78 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has borrowed Rs 21.63 billion, and Balochistan owes Rs 13.65 billion to the SBP. These figures are classified under the sub-category of “borrowings for budgetary support”.

Details of the borrowing segment, as described by the SBP report itself says that this classification shows “government’s borrowing net of Federal, Provincial, Azad Kashmir’s and Gilgit-Baltistan’s deposit with SBP and Scheduled Banks. The (-) sign in govt. deposits shows a credit balance whereas (+) sign shows their debtor/withdrawal from the system.”