[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]In May 2023, the total public debt stock of the federal government saw a year-on-year increase of 32.1 percent compared to the same month in the previous fiscal year. According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the debt stock rose to Rs. 58.962 trillion in May 2023, compared to Rs. 44.641 trillion in May 2022, reflecting a significant increase of Rs. 14.321 trillion.
The data further reveals that the domestic debt of the central government increased by 27.6 percent, going from Rs. 29.047 trillion to Rs. 37.054 trillion during the given period. Among the domestic debt, the long-term public debt grew from Rs. 23.367 trillion to Rs. 29.481 trillion, while the short-term debt increased from Rs. 5.649 trillion to Rs. 7.434 trillion over the past year.
Within the long-term debt category, the government raised Rs. 6.1 trillion through Federal Government Bonds, including Pakistan investment bonds, GOP Ijara Sukuk, and Bai-Muajjal of Sukuk, during the previous year. The total debt stock of Federal Government Bonds increased from Rs. 19.110 trillion to Rs. 25.303 trillion. Additionally, the government raised Rs. 8 billion through the issuance of Prize Bonds within a year.
The public debt remained at the same level of Rs. 475 billion in terms of SBP’s on-lending to the government against SDRs allocation. The unfunded debt decreased from Rs. 3,395 billion to Rs. 2,935 billion. Foreign currency loans increased from Rs. 8 billion to Rs. 383 billion during the specified period.
The report also indicates that the external debt of the central government rose to Rs. 21.908 trillion from Rs. 15.594 trillion, marking a significant increase of 40.5 percent.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
