Pakistan made substantial debt and interest payments totaling $7.3 billion during the first half of the fiscal year 2024 (1HFY24), ending on December 31, 2023.
A closer look at these payments reveals that $4.6 billion was allocated towards principal repayments, with the remaining $2.7 billion covering interest expenses.
The country disbursed $2.58 billion for principal and $1.54 billion for interest in the second quarter of FY24 (2QFY24) alone, culminating in payments of $4.12 billion for that quarter.
The government’s revenue collections during 1HFY24 were reported at Rs4.8 billion, from which Rs4.2 billion was utilized for domestic debt repayments.
This financial maneuvering comes in the context of the previous fiscal year (FY23), during which Pakistan had to allocate a significant $20.822 billion towards meeting its principal and interest payment obligations.
Earlier, in December 2023, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Jameel Ahmed said that Pakistan’s external debt obligations for the current fiscal year (FY24) amount to $24.6 billion, of which $5.4 billion had already been repaid.
He said that the remaining debt stands at $19.2 billion, out of which $12.4 billion are expected to be rolled over by the creditors, leaving a net repayment of $6.8 billion for the rest of the fiscal year.
He said that the $6.8 billion repayment includes $4.3 billion of principal and $2.5 billion of interest.
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