Govt’s debt increases by over Rs74 billion in one week

WEB DESK: During the week ending June 21, 2024, Pakistan’s government accumulated an additional debt of Rs74.2 billion, pushing its total net borrowing for the fiscal year 2025 to Rs6.68 trillion. This information comes from the weekly estimates released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Comparatively, the government’s borrowings this fiscal year have consistently surpassed previous years’ figures. These borrowings are categorised into three main areas: budgetary support, commodity operations, and other purposes.

Breaking down the recent borrowing, Rs72.89 billion was allocated for budgetary support, aimed at bolstering financial stability and meeting expenditure needs.

Meanwhile, Rs1.6 billion was earmarked for commodity operations, facilitating necessary interventions in market stability. Additionally, Rs292.51 million was retired from other purposes during the same week.

This brings the cumulative borrowings for fiscal year 2025 to Rs6.81 trillion for budgetary support, with Rs115.79 billion retired from commodity operations and Rs6.11 billion from other expenditures.

The primary sources of financing for budgetary support include the State Bank of Pakistan and Scheduled Banks. Notably, the government has paid off a net sum of Rs678.86 billion to the central bank this fiscal year.

Of this amount, the Federal Government contributed Rs296.53 billion, while the Provincial Government, AJK Government, and GB Government paid Rs349.95 billion, Rs30.42 billion, and Rs1.96 billion, respectively.

Conversely, Scheduled Banks have extended a total net financing of Rs7.49 trillion. Within this, the Federal Government borrowed Rs7.75 trillion, while the Provincial Government repaid Rs261.27 billion.

These financial movements underscore the government’s strategic financial management amidst evolving economic conditions, aiming to balance borrowing needs with fiscal sustainability.

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