Pakistan's debt, liabilities increase to Rs 45.470 trillion in March: Report

As Pakistan's financial debt continues to mount, the country's total debt and liabilities rose to Rs 45.470 trillion at the end of March 2021, an increase of Rs 2.666 trillion or 6.2 percent a year earlier, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The debt and liabilities stood at Rs 42.804 trillion in the period ended March 2020. However, the overall debt and liabilities stood at 44.591 trillion till end-June 2020, reported The News International.

The News International reported that in the medium term, Pakistan's strategy aims to increase tax revenues by 3-4 percentage points of GDP. However, revenues during the program period are expected to remain below projections at the first Extended Fund Facility (EFF) review due to the challenge of the Covid-19 shock and resulting large revision to the growth outlook compared to the first EFF review.

It further mentioned that the debt and liabilities were equivalent to 97.4 percent of the gross domestic product.

The government domestic debt rose to Rs 25.552 trillion as of March from Rs 22.477 trillion a year ago. The domestic debt owed by the public sector enterprises increased to Rs 1.467 trillion from Rs 1.397 trillion.

The government external debt stood at Rs 16.425 trillion as of March 2021, compared with Rs16.667 trillion in the same period of the last fiscal year, reported The News International.

Meanwhile, the debt owed by the government to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose to Rs 1.164 trillion from Rs 1.071 trillion.

IMF, in its latest staff report stated that the Debt Sustainability Analysis confirms the public debt remains sustainable with strong policies, but also points to risks from policy slippages and contingent liabilities.

( With inputs from ANI )

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