Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
Debt Burden was added up to Rs 4000 billion in two days of dollar appreciation in the market against Pakistan Rupee.
Dollar in open market is trading at Rs 265 per dollar, which went up Rs 25 in two days. It was a huge historic jump in two consecutive days, probably the highest in the history of currency market trading in Pakistan.
Though it might weaken the fiscal position of the government, which has sought Rs 500 billion waiver after floods from IMF.
Dollar at the interbank closed at 262.60 rupees, which in two days went up by Rs 31.71 against rupees in the local interbank market after the removal of cap form the government on IMF insistence. IMF which has also found a gap of Rs 2000 in the ongoing fiscal year, would start its parleys with the government from Jan 31 to Feb 09, 2023.
Total Public Debt Stock
Pakistan’s total public debt stood at Rs 50.90 trillion (last updated by end-September, 2022 by SBP) rupees and foreign debt was $ 126.91 billion (last updated by end-Novmber, 2022).
Both these figures had been having up and down in last one year due to dollar value variation. total public debt went up to Rs 50 trillion once before and then went down, similarly, external debt went up to $ 130 billion and then went down as dollar value remained up and down between last July and December.
This additional is not likely to touch the primary balance of the budget but it would create a greater imbalance in overall debt payments in the future.
