Government Borrowed Twice as Much This Year Compared to Last Fiscal, EAD Report Reveals
Islamabad: The **Economic Affairs Division (EAD)** has released a report highlighting Pakistan’s borrowing trends, showing that the government has taken **double the loans** this year compared to the same period last fiscal year.
According to the report, Pakistan borrowed **Rs391 billion** in the first two months of the **2024–25 fiscal year**, compared to **Rs199 billion** during the same period last year. Of this, **Rs198 billion** was borrowed in July and more than **Rs192 billion** in August. The government plans to raise a total of **Rs5.77 trillion** in loans during the current fiscal year.
The report further states that Pakistan expects **$6.4 billion** in loans from bilateral and multilateral agreements. Only **$400 million** worth of bonds will be issued this year, while **$168.3 million** has already been raised through **Naya Pakistan Certificates**.
In August, Pakistan received **$100 million** under the **Saudi oil facility**, and in the past two months, the country received **$32.4 million** in grants.
The EAD report follows the Finance Ministry’s clarification earlier this month, which emphasized that for the first time in history, **Rs2.6 trillion** in loans were **repaid ahead of schedule**. The ministry asserted that Pakistan’s debt position is now more sustainable, citing better debt management, lower refinancing risks, reduced interest costs, and a decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio from **74% in 2022 to 70% in 2025**.
Other improvements highlighted include:
* Federal deficit reduced from **Rs7.7 trillion to Rs7.1 trillion**.
* Public debt maturity extended from **4 years to 4.5 years**, while domestic debt maturity increased from **2.7 to 3.8 years**.
* First **$2 billion current account surplus** recorded in 14 years.
* Annual debt growth slowed to **13%**, compared to **17%** last year.
* A **primary surplus of Rs1.8 trillion** recorded for the second consecutive year.
The ministry also noted that the increase in external debt was partly due to **IMF and Saudi oil facility inflows**, while **Rs800 billion** of the rise was attributed to the depreciation of the rupee rather than new borrowing.
