ISLAMABAD: Pakis-tan’s total public debt was recorded at Rs 76,007 billion by end-March 2025, registering an increase of Rs 4,761 billion (6.7 percent) during first nine months of current fiscal year, as it was Rs 71,246 billion on June 30, 2024, the Economic Survey 2024-25 noted.

External public debt was recorded at $87.4 billion by end-March 2025, revealing an increase of around $883 million during the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to an increase of $2.6 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year, however it does not contain liabilities of foreign exchange, public sector enterprises (PSEs), banks and private sector.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data, the country’s external debt and liabilities stood at $130.310 billion by end-March 2025, which contains, government external debt, short term, from International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as liabilities of foreign exchange, public sector enterprises, banks and private sector.

Pakistan’s domestic debt stood at Rs 51.5 trillion by end-March fiscal year 2025, reflecting an increase of Rs 4.8 trillion during the first nine months of the fiscal year, from Rs 47.160 trillion by end-June 2024.

The increase of Rs 4761 billion in public debt include Rs (2415) billion of federal primary deficit, Rs 6,439 billion interest on debt, Rs 738 billion on other (Exchange Rate / Cash Balances / Accounting impact).

Government external debt accounts for the majority, amounting to $79,131 million, while debt from the IMF stands at $8,277 million. The IMF debt further consists of the federal government debt ($3,878 million) and the central bank debt ($4,399 million).

The government’s external debt is predominantly long-term in nature, with $78,181 million long-term debt (greater than one year) and $950 million as short-term debt (less than one year).

Among long-term external debt sources, multilateral loans form the largest portion, totaling $40,468 million, constituting around 51.8 percent of the long-term external debt. These loans are provided by development partners like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank and are concessional in nature, with lower interest rates and extended repayment periods.

The Paris Club debt amounts to $5,943 million, representing approximately 7.6 percent of Pakistan’s long-term external public debt. Bilateral loans from non-Paris Club countries amount to $17,860 million (22.8 percent of longterm debt).

Outstanding loans from foreign commercial banks amount to $5,850 million constituting around 7.5 percent of long-term debt. These loans are short-to-medium term (i.e., 1-3 years) with market-based interest rates. Short-term debt, which poses refinancing risk, is significantly lower. Multilateral short-term loans amount to $426 million, while local currency securities (T-bills) add another $524 million.

In the first nine months of the fiscal year 2025, the total inflows from external debt disbursements amounted to $5,066 million. Of this, multilateral sources contributed the largest ($2,797), followed by commercial/other ($2,011), and bilateral sources ($258 million). There were no bond issuances during this period. Repayments totaled $5,636 million, with multilateral creditors receiving the largest portion ($2,828 million), followed by bilateral creditors ($1,565 million), and commercial/other sources ($1,243 million).

Interest payments amounted to $2,660 million, with the bulk of these payments directed towards multilateral creditors ($1,315 million). —TAHIR AMIN