SARDAR SIKANDER SHAHEEN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s total debt comprising domestic debt, external debt and the debt from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was recorded at Rs81.37 trillion till December last year, the federal government informed the Upper House of the Parliament on Thursday.

The break-up of this debt suggested that of the total debt of Rs81.37 trillion, the domestic debt stood at Rs55.36 trillion, external debt stood at Rs23.16 trillion and IMF debt was recorded at Rs2.74 trillion, revealed a written reply shared by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the Senate session.

The written reply came to a question posed by Talha Mahmood from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), who sought from the finance minister the details of the amount of domestic and foreign loans outstanding against Pakistan at present; the amount of the said loans paid back by Pakistan during the last five years with year-wise breakup; and the amount of the mark-up on the said loans paid back by Pakistan during the last five years with year-wise breakup.

The minister’s written reply suggested that external debt servicing was recorded at Rs15.59 trillion in the fiscal year 2021-22, Rs21.36 trillion in FY 2022-23, Rs27.16 trillion in FY 2023-24, Rs25.53 trillion in FY 2024-25, Rs24.85 trillion in FY-2025-26 and Rs13.80 trillion in FY 2026-27 (July-December).

The finance minister’s reply further revealed that the amount of mark-up on total external and domestic loans paid by Pakistan was recorded at Rs2.75 trillion in FY 2021-22, Rs3.18 trillion in FY 2022-23, Rs5.69 trillion in FY 2023-24, Rs8.16 trillion in FY 2024-25, Rs8.88 trillion in FY 2025-26 and Rs3.56 trillion in FY 2026-27 (July-December).