Central government debt falls Rs936.6bn in first quarter
Domestic borrowing dropped Rs1.636 trillion to Rs57.758 trillion while external debt rose Rs699.6 billion, SBP data show, leaving the stock 7.9 percent above September 2025.
Pakistan's central government debt fell by Rs936.6 billion, or 1.12 percent, in the first quarter of the fiscal year, July to September 2026, to Rs82.658 trillion at the end of September, State Bank of Pakistan data show. The stock stood at Rs83.595 trillion at the end of June 2026.
Domestic debt drove the decline, dropping Rs1.636 trillion, or 2.75 percent, to Rs57.758 trillion from Rs59.394 trillion. Long-term domestic debt fell Rs484.1 billion to Rs47.915 trillion, and permanent debt fell Rs578.1 billion to Rs44.144 trillion from Rs44.722 trillion. Short-term borrowing also came down, according to Business Recorder's reading of the SBP figures.
External debt moved the other way, rising Rs699.6 billion, or 2.89 percent, to Rs24.900 trillion from Rs24.201 trillion at the end of June, a rise the report attributed mainly to foreign inflows. The central government's external debt figures exclude IMF loans and foreign exchange liabilities.
Analysts quoted by Business Recorder said the reduction in domestic borrowing more than offset the rise in external debt, and accounted for the whole of the quarterly fall.
The year-on-year picture is different. Central government debt was 7.9 percent, or about Rs6 trillion, higher than the Rs76.608 trillion recorded in September 2025.
The SBP warned in its recent monetary policy that an intensifying Middle East conflict has made fiscal management harder. Sustained efforts are needed to strengthen fiscal discipline, widen the tax base and speed up structural reforms, the central bank said, adding that prudent fiscal management remains necessary for macroeconomic stability.
Investify, summarising a report by Profit by Pakistan Today, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs put external public debt at $98.075 billion at June 2026, up 6.84 percent from a year earlier. The ministry reported $14.436 billion in debt-servicing payments during FY26 and external financing receipts of $16.16 billion, about 81 percent of the amount budgeted.
How the reports differ
Business Recorder alone broke down the domestic side, naming the Rs484.1 billion fall in long-term domestic debt and the Rs578.1 billion fall in permanent debt, and it led the SBP's monetary policy warning about the Middle East conflict. Investify, crediting Profit by Pakistan Today, carried figures the other report did not: the Ministry of Economic Affairs' external public debt of $98.075 billion at June 2026, $14.436 billion in FY26 debt servicing and $16.16 billion in external financing receipts, about 81 percent of the budgeted amount. Both reports gave the same headline debt numbers for the quarter.
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