ISLAMABAD: The government said on Saturday it expected slower growth in public debt in the current fiscal year amid a stabilizing economy, as it rejected claims that Pakistan’s overall debt had doubled in the past three years.
Officials have repeatedly said the country’s macroeconomic indicators have improved markedly since mid-2023, when Pakistan narrowly avoided a sovereign default and secured a short-term International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan with tough reform conditions.
The economy’s recovery has since been recognized by multilateral lenders and credit-rating agencies. Yet, Khurram Schehzad, an advisor to the finance minister, pointed to social media posts that he said were creating a misleading impression that Pakistan’s debt burden had doubled since 2022.
“The central government’s debt stood at Rs80 trillion [$280 billion] as of June 2025,” Schehzad said in a statement, adding that contrary to claims that it has doubled, the debt stock increased "by PKR 31 trillion [$108.5 billion] between FY22-25, from PKR 49 trillion [$171.5 billion] to current PKR 80 trillion [$280 billion].”
He said annual debt growth that once ran as high as 23 percent in FY22 and 28 percent in FY23 had eased to about 13 percent in FY24 and FY25, crediting a record primary budget surplus and what he described as the country’s first early repayments of more than Rs2.6 trillion ($9.1 billion) within eleven months.
