Pakistan secured $57.27 billion in external loans, which are separate from the International Monetary Fund programme, over the last five years, according to a report.

The finance ministry presented the report, detailing the external loans acquired by Pakistan over the past five years, in the National Assembly on Monday

Of this amount, $9.81 billion was obtained for “various projects.” Moreover, $3.9 billion has been repaid in interest or markup on these external loans.

This comes as the South Asian country takes steps to secure the $7 billion IMF bailout package to improve the economy.

Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement on the 37-month loan programme in July. The IMF said the programme was subject to approval from its executive board and obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners”.

More than half of Pakistan’s total budget would go into interest payments, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in his budget speech on June 12.

Rs9,775 billion would go to interest payments, he said when he presented the important points of the annual budget. The budget deficit for fiscal year 2024-25 has been projected at 6.9 per cent of the gross domestic product.

Pakistan’s public debt, both domestic and foreign, soared to Rs67,525 billion in the fiscal year, up Rs4,644 in the last fiscal year, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey report. The reason for such an increase was the federal primary deficit (surplus) and interest on the debt.