According to the Finance Division, Pakistan’s external debt maturity is expected to exceed $100 billion over the course of five fiscal years, from 2025 to 2029.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance was notified by Mohsin Mushtaq, Director General (Debt), that friendly nations would contribute $12.7 billion to Pakistan in the current fiscal year.
These countries include $5 billion from Saudi Arabia, $4 billion from China, $3 billion from the United Arab Emirates, and $0.7 billion from Kuwait.
Reports stated that the committee was informed that Pakistan’s financial needs exceed the existing IMF rescue package during an in-camera meeting on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agenda.
According to sources citing Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the IMF would provide $7 billion, and another $5 billion would need to be obtained from commercial banks and other lenders.
Additionally, the IMF has been notified of pledges from allies to extend current financing.
According to sources, these guarantees persuaded the IMF to set up a meeting so that they could talk more about Pakistan’s program. Furthermore, Pakistan’s electricity sector reforms have gained the trust of the IMF.
After meeting with Syed Naveed Qamar, the committee was informed that the overall public debt as of the end of June 2024 was Rs71.2 trillion, of which Rs24.1 trillion was external debt and Rs47.2 trillion was domestic debt.
As per the DG, the average policy rate of 17.2 percent used to draft the budget for the current fiscal year is projected to decrease further.
A one percent decrease in the policy rate translates to a relief of around Rs320 billion in terms of domestic debt.
He also predicted a drop in the price of petroleum items and the value of the dollar relative to the rupee.
