Pakistan to repay $18.7 trillion in FY24

Ministry of Finance on Friday said that the country will repay a total of $18.7 billion in local and external debt for the fiscal year 2024.

The report was presented in the National Assembly, showing details of the loans that the government has borrowed till June 2024.

According to the report, the government took a total of Rs71 trillion in loans till the end of FY2023. 

Rs47 trillion were borrowed from local banks and Rs24 trillion from foreign lenders, the report said.

The amount showed that Pakistan will repay 66 percent in local loans and 34 percent in foreign debt.

The local loan was given after the issuance of government security, while the external loan was taken from bilateral partners and commercial institutions.

Ministry of Finance has shared a 16-year loan payment schedule from 2024 to 2040, according to which the cash-strapped country needs to repay Rs18.7 trillion in 2024, Rs8.7 trillion in 2025, Rs7.6 trillion, and Rs4.3 trillion in 2027 in external debt.

Similarly, the government will repay Rs6 trillion to local institutions in 2028, Rs8.4 trillion in 2029, Rs2.4 trillion in 2030, Rs5.12 trillion in 2031. 

On the other hand, the authorities are attempting to unlock the bailout programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with economic crises such as high inflation, circular debts, external financing, and implementation of loan lenders’ conditions.