ISLAMABAD – Rs3.65 trillion was added in the public debt during its firstnine months of the current fiscal year by the PTI government.
According to the Economic Survey 2018-19, the total public debt stood atRs28.6 trillion by the end of March 2019, recording an increase of Rs3.65trillion in nine months.
The government claims that the main reason behind the increase in publicdebt was the devaluation of Pakistani currency against the US dollar.
“The cumulative increase in debt stock cannot be entirely attributed togovernment borrowing. External loans are contracted in various currencies;however, disbursements are effectively converted into Pak Rupee.
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Thus, devaluation of Pak Rupee against international currencies canincrease the value of external public debt portfolio when converted intoPak Rupee for reporting purposes,” the government maintained, adding thisis evident from the fact that increase in external public debt contributedRs1,900 billion to the public debt during first nine months of ongoingfiscal year while government borrowing for financing of fiscal deficit fromexternal sources was Rs524 billion during the said period.
