Pakistan's total debt up Rs1 trillion in first 3 months of fiscal year

Total debt increased to Rs15 trillion by September, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign debt increased to Rs403 billion due to depreciation of the rupee since Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came to power, taking the total debt to approximately Rs15 trillion.

By end of the last fiscal year (June 30, 2013), the central government’s total debt was Rs14 trillion. That total increased to Rs15 trillion by the end of September 2013 -- an increase of Rs1 trillion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

The Ministry of Finance informed the National Assembly on Friday that “the public and publicly guaranteed foreign debt including IMF has increased by Rs403 billion as a result of depreciation of the Pakistani rupee during the present government.”

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Parliamentarian MNA Nafisa Shah raised the issue in Parliament.

In response her question, Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan raised points on the devaluation of rupee, stating that initiatives like building up of reserves and enhancing exports were required to strengthen the rupee.

“We have planned substantial foreign exchange inflows, loans from multi-lateral and bilateral sources,” he said.

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have declined to a 12-year low of $2.9 billion, hitting its lowest level since November 2001, according to newly released data.