Finance Ministry reveals massive increase in debt over three-year period

Ministry also discloses that 3.5 million taxpayers were registered across the country in 2023

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Finance has submitted details to the Senate regarding the increase in national debt over the past three years.

According to the written response, the national debt increased by Rs31.5 trillion during this period. In the fiscal year 2021-22, the debt rose by Rs9.4 trillion, in 2022-23 by Rs13.7 trillion, and in 2023-24 by 8.4 trillion rupees.

The Ministry of Finance also provided details about new taxpayers in the Senate, revealing that 3.5 million taxpayers were registered across the country in 2023.

Read 'External sector crisis under control'

Last week, The Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs also released data revealing which political party's government in Pakistan borrowed the most from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and which repaid the most loans and interest.

Officials disclosed that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) borrowed over $7.72 billion from the IMF, ranking it at the top of the list of borrowing governments.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ranked second, having borrowed a total of $6.48 billion, while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came third, taking loans amounting to $6 billion, just $480 million less than the PML-N.

In terms of repayments, the PML-N government returned the most, with over $5.92 billion paid back to the IMF, putting it in the first position. The PTI government, however, topped the list for the most interest paid, having paid $791 million in a single term.