PPP leads in IMF borrowing among recent governments

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has been identified as the leading borrower from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 2007.

During its tenure from 2008 to 2013, the PPP secured loans, mainly from the IMF, amounting to over 5.23 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR), equivalent to almost $7.72 billion.

Read more: Govt’s debt increases by Rs91.44 billion: SBP weekly borrowing report

The subsequent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, which governed from 2013 to 2018, borrowed more than 4.39 billion SDR—around $6.48 billion.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) administration, from 2018 to 2022, took out loans totaling over 4.5 billion SDR, approximately $6 billion.

According to a report from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Economic Affairs Division) submitted to the Senate Standing Committee, the PPP repaid more than $3 billion to the IMF and paid $484 million in interest.

The PML-N administration repaid over $317.7 million in interest during its five-year term. Meanwhile, the PTI government repaid $79.11 million in interest on its loans.

Read more: IMF ranks Pakistan’s export performance lower than regional peers’

The report highlighted the significant borrowing and repayment patterns of recent Pakistani governments in relation to the IMF.