ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s total public debt amounted to Rs 83,285 billion by the end of March 2026, registering an increase of Rs 2,767 billion (around 3.4 percent) during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, as it was Rs 80,518 billion on June 30, 2025.
This was noted in the Economic Survey 2025-26 released on Thursday. The survey further noted that the outstanding stock of contingent liabilities was Rs 4,322 billion by the end of March 2026 against Rs 3,632 billion in the same period last year, reflecting an increase of 19 percent.
External public debt was recorded at USD 92.2 billion at the end of March 2026, showing an increase of around USD 364 million during the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to an increase of USD 883 million during the same period of the last fiscal year.
However, it does not contain liabilities of foreign exchange, public sector enterprises (PSEs), banks, and private sector.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data, the country’s external debt and liabilities stood at $137.55 billion by the end of March 2026, which contained government external debt, short-term, from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as liabilities of foreign exchange, public sector enterprises, banks, and the private sector.
Pakistan’s domestic debt stood at Rs 57.566 trillion by the end of March of fiscal year 2026, reflecting an increase of Rs 30.94 trillion during the first nine months of the fiscal year, which amounted to Rs 54.472 trillion by the end of June 2025.
Pakistan’s total external public debt consists of two components: government external debt and debt secured from the IMF. The government external debt accounts for the majority, amounting to USD 82,261 million, while outstanding debt from the IMF stands at USD 9,891 million.
The IMF debt further consists of the federal government debt (USD 3,620 million) and the central bank’s debt (USD 6,271 million).
The central government’s external debt is predominantly long-term in nature, with USD 68,408 million long-term debt (greater than one year) and USD 13,853 million as short-term debt (less than one year). This is in line with the government’s external debt strategy that prioritizes long-term financing, which typically carries lower repayment pressures.
Among external debt sources, multilateral loans form the largest portion, totaling USD 42,483 million, constituting around 46 percent of total external debt. These loans are provided by development partners like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank and are concessional in nature, with lower interest rates and extended repayment periods.
Debt from the IMF amounts to USD 9,891 million, constituting around 11 percent of total external debt. The Paris Club debt amounts to USD 5,497 million, representing approximately 6 percent of Pakistan’s total external public debt. These loans are also concessional, offering longer repayment periods and lower interest rates. Bilateral loans from non-Paris Club countries amount to USD 19,025 million (21 percent of total external debt).
The Government of Pakistan’s international capital markets debt in the form of Eurobonds and international Sukuk amounts to USD 6,300 million, which constitutes approximately 7 percent of total external debt. These debt obligations are long-term in nature with market-based interest rates. vii. Total Outstanding loans from foreign commercial banks amount to USD 6,323 million, constituting around 7 percent of total external debt. These loans are short-to-medium-term (ie, 1-3 years) with market-based interest rates. Other foreign debt in terms of Naya Pakistan Certificates, non-resident investment in government securities, and Pakistan Banao Certificates, etc., constitutes around 1.5 percent. This category falls under the short-to-medium-term nature of debt with a market-based interest rate. ix. Short-term debt, having a tenor of less than 1 year, amounts to USD 13,853 million, which also includes external holdings of short-term local currency securities (T-bills) of USD 323 million.
In the first nine months of the FY 2026, the total inflows from external debt disbursements amounted to USD 6,101 million. Of this, multilateral sources contributed the largest (USD 2,738 million), followed by commercial/other (USD 2,238 million), which also includes NPCs, and bilateral sources (USD 1,125 million). There were no bond issuances during this period.
Repayments totaled USD 6,250 million, with multilateral creditors receiving the largest portion (USD 2,150 million), followed by bilateral creditors (USD 657 million), International Bonds (USD 500 million), and commercial/other sources (USD 2,944 million).
Interest payments amounted to USD 2,582 million, with the bulk of these payments directed towards multilateral creditors (USD 1,201 million).
The interest payments to bilateral creditors (USD 663 million), international bonds (USD 320 million), and commercial/other sources (USD 398 million) were lower in comparison.
Permanent debt, which primarily comprises medium to long-term instruments such as Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), Government Ijara Sukuk (GIS), and Prize Bonds, rose from Rs 41.8 trillion in June 2025 to Rs 43.9 trillion in March 2026, reflecting an increase of Rs 2.1 trillion during the first nine months of FY 2026.
PIBs increased by Rs 0.7 trillion, GIS, including Bai-Muajjal, rose by Rs 1.4 trillion, and Prize Bonds saw a marginal rise of Rs 20 billion. Overall, permanent debt accounted for nearly 77 percent of total domestic debt, indicating more reliance on medium to longer-term borrowing to ensure debt sustainability.
Floating debt stock was recorded at Rs 9.6 trillion by the end of March 2026, compared to Rs 8.8 trillion in June 2025, showing an increase of Rs 0.8 trillion in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal year.
The share of floating debt out of total domestic debt was 16.6 percent, which is almost constant at the March 2025 level of 16.1 percent. This is in line with the government’s medium-term debt management strategy to keep net issuance of short-term T-Bills around zero, and rely more on the medium to long-term bond issuances.
The ‘Other’ components of domestic debt increased slightly from Rs 905 billion to Rs 910 billion. Naya Pakistan Certificates declined slightly by Rs 2.4 billion to Rs 59.5 billion. SDR on-lent loan from SBP remained stable at Rs 474.9 billion. Foreign currency-denominated domestic debt is recorded at Rs 376 billion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026