Government's Weekly Debt Surges by Rs86 Billion

The Pakistani government increased its debt load by an additional Rs86.28 billion in the week ending January 12, 2024, bringing the total net borrowing for the ongoing fiscal year to Rs2.57 trillion, according to the latest weekly estimates from the central bank.

Government sector borrowings are categorized into three main groups based on the purpose of the loan: budgetary support, commodity operations, and others.

Breaking down the figures, weekly net borrowing for budgetary support amounted to Rs87.7 billion, while retirement of commodity operations stood at Rs1.37 billion. Simultaneously, Rs48.4 million was retired from other sources during the week.

Consequently, the cumulative borrowing for the current fiscal year 2024 now stands at Rs2.77 trillion for budgetary support, Rs193.72 billion for the retirement of commodity operations, and Rs1.1 billion for other purposes.

The primary sources of financing for budgetary support are the State Bank of Pakistan and the Scheduled Banks.

In this fiscal year, the government has repaid a net sum of Rs1.05 trillion to the central bank. The Federal Government retired Rs954.56 billion, while the Provincial Government settled Rs77.73 billion. Additionally, the AJK Government and the GB Government retired Rs11.17 billion and Rs2.05 billion, respectively.

On the flip side, the Scheduled Banks have extended a net total of Rs3.81 trillion, with the Federal Government borrowing Rs3.9 trillion, and the Provincial Government retiring Rs90.41 billion.