ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s debt increased by Rs37,307 billion during the combined period of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s first and current tenures, according to figures attributed to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The reported increase over nearly three years and nine months was substantially higher than the Rs18,323 billion increase recorded during the approximately three-year-and-nine-month tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
According to the data, the federal government’s debt increased by Rs18,764 billion during Shehbaz Sharif’s first tenure from April 2022 to July 2023, spanning 16 months.
During the first 29 months of his current tenure, from March 2024 to July 2026, the federal government’s debt reportedly increased by a further Rs18,543 billion.
The figures show that federal government debt stood at around Rs43,000 billion in March 2022, the last month of the PTI government, before rising to Rs61,777 billion by July 2023, when the caretaker government took over.
The debt subsequently increased to Rs83,883 billion by July 2026, according to the figures cited.
Prior to the PTI government coming to power, the federal government’s debt stood at approximately Rs24,690 billion.
The State Bank publishes monthly data on central government debt and related debt indicators, providing a basis for tracking changes in the government’s borrowing position over time.
The figures cover changes in the stock of federal government debt over the specified periods and should be read in the context of changes in borrowing requirements, exchange rates, interest costs and other factors affecting the debt stock.
Story by Rana Ghulam Qadir
