State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad said on Tuesday that Pakistan has only paid $13.5 billion of the $24.3 billion it owed this year and will need massive rollovers and inflows to meet its targets.
Speaking to analysts at the SBP, Ahmad said Pakistan owes a total of $20.4 billion in debt repayments and $3.9 billion in intereste payments in the ongoing fiscal year.
Out of these, $10.9 billion in debt and $2.6 billion in interest payments have already been completed he said.
He added that Pakistan will need to arrange $4.8 billion before this fiscal year ends to meet its repayment targets.
This will include $3.5 billion for debt servicing and $1.3 billion for interest payments.
However, the SBP governor also said around $2 billion worth of debt is expected to be rolled over in the next two weeks. The government has plans for a further $4 billion to be rolled over.
Pakistan’s economy has faced massive current account deficits in recent years leading to dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The country has tried to plug the gap by taking loasn from ‘friendly countries’ as well as bailout packages from the International Monetary Fund.
However, this has led to mounting debts that have put the government in a cycle of borrowing just to pay back its loans.
The government has tried to shore up its reserves by cracking down on dollar smuggling and curbing imports.
Meanwhile, living conditions have deteriorated for the country’s burgeoning population in the face of historically-high inflation.
