ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, on Friday, revealed in the National Assembly that the total public debt of Pakistan was Rs71.2 trillion including Rs47.2 trillion (66 per cent) domestic and Rs24.1 trillion (34 per cent) external debt at the end of June-2024.
He said that the total public debt is expected to reach Rs79.731 trillion by the end of the current fiscal year. This includes an estimated increase of Rs7.671 trillion in domestic loans and Rs818 billion in foreign loans, he added.
In a written reply to a question of MNA Dr Nafisa Shah of PPP, the minister outlined a debt repayment schedule for the coming years from 2024 to 2040.
Public debt recorded at Rs67.525trn at Mar-end
He said that for the year 2024, Pakistan is set to repay Rs18.7 trillion including Rs13.7 trillion domestic and Rs5 trillion external debt.
He said that Pakistan would have to repay Rs8.7 trillion including Rs6.4 trillion domestic and Rs2.2 trillion external debt in 2025 and Rs7.6 trillion including Rs5.3 trillion domestic and Rs2.3 trillion external debt would have to be repaid in 2026.
He said that a total of Rs4.3 trillion including Rs2.3 domestic and Rs2 trillion external debt would have to be repaid in 2027.
He said that the repayment amounts would have to continue — Rs6 trillion (Rs4.4 trillion domestic and Rs1.6 trillion external) in 2028 and Rs8.4 trillion (Rs6.8 trillion domestic and Rs1.6 trillion external) in 2029.
He said that a total of Rs2.4 trillion (Rs1.2 trillion domestic and Rs1.1 trillion external) would have to be repaid in 2030.
The minister further said that Pakistan would have to repay Rs2.6 trillion in 2031, Rs1.1 trillion in 2032, Rs1.2 trillion in 2033, Rs0.8 trillion in 2034, Rs0.9 trillion in 2035, Rs0.8 trillion in 2036, Rs0.6 trillion in 2037, Rs0.5 trillion in 2038, Rs0.5 trillion in 2039 and Rs0.8 trillion in 2040.
Meanwhile, the federal government had also introduced a three-year economic plan aimed at increasing the provinces’ share in the federal budget from 39.4 per cent to 48.7 per cent by 2027.
Answering another question, the minister said the plan, under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, outlines that provinces would receive Rs10.35 trillion in the fiscal year 2026-27.
The allocation for the next fiscal year 2025-26 is set at Rs8.921 trillion and Rs10.350 trillion by 2026-27.
He said that for the current fiscal year, 39.4 per cent of the budget will be transferred to the provinces under the NFC Award.
The government has also recognised the need to revise the resource distribution method among the provinces, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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