Islamabad : Pakistan ‘s Economic Survey released by Finance minister , Muhammad Aurangzeb , here on Thursday suggestsled that Pakistan is heading fast for a debt trap. It noted that the Shahbaz regime is borrowing trillions of rupee every month for “Royal” style governance. The Shahbaz regime on one hand is spending huge money on non developmental issues like protocols , concessions to elite of Pakistan , “Royal” family-style foreign trips and for security of its 94-member cabinet. The Economic Survey also showed that Pakistan ‘s expenses on loan servicing increased by billions . It indicated that Pakistan paid Rs 4947 billion in serving of debt in just first 9 months of the current fiscal year.
The Economic Survey has the following facts of Pakistan’s economic progress in last three years of the Shahbaz regime.
Main highlights of the Economic Survey
■ Total public debt stood at Rs 83,285 billion by end-March 2026, with domestic debt at Rs 57,566
billion and external debt at Rs 25,720 billion.
■ During July–March FY 2026, interest expense on public debt totaled Rs 4,947 billion, comprising
Rs 4,287 billion on domestic debt and Rs 660 billion on external debt.
■ Fiscal deficit financing was fully met through domestic borrowing sources, with the government
primarily relying on medium- to long-term instruments such as PIBs
and Government Ijarah Sukuk.
■ Under strategic Liability Management Operations, the government conducted buybacks of approximately Rs 2.1 trillion worth of government debt securities to rationalize debt servicing cost.
■ To cater to institutional investor demand, the government introduced a 15-year zero-coupon
Pakistan Investment Bond, successfully raising Rs 263 billion on realized value basis.
■ The government expanded Shariah-compliant financing options through the introduction
of a 10-year zero-coupon fixed-rate Sukuk instrument.
■ During July–March FY 2026, the government raised approximately Rs 2.25 trillion through Shariahcompliant Sukuk issuances.
■ External budgetary disbursements were recorded at US $ 6.1 billion, including US $ 2.7 billion from
multilateral sources, US $ 1.1 billion from bilateral development partners, US $ 2.0 billion from Naya
Pakistan Certificates, and US $ 0.2 billion from commercial banks.
■ The government received US $ 1.2 billion under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility during July–March FY
2026..
