Pakistan’s international debt burden has continued its ascent, soaring to a staggering Rs63,966 billion as of the conclusion of August 2023.
In a recent briefing session focused on the nation’s debt situation, it was disclosed that foreign debt had surged to $24,174 billion by the end of August, while local debt had concurrently reached Rs39,791 billion.
The data presented during the briefing demonstrated a substantial increase of Rs14,506 billion in total loans over the past year.
It’s worth noting that in August 2022, the loan volume was a more modest Rs49,571 billion. During that period, the foreign debt stood at $18 trillion, and the local debt was at Rs32,152 billion.
Prior to this development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had demanded a tax collection plan of Rs6,670 billion from Pakistan by June 2024.
An IMF review mission arrived in Pakistan to assess the country’s economic performance during the initial three months of the current fiscal year, spanning from July to September.
The IMF has insisted on a comprehensive tax collection report from all sectors as part of its projection report.
Negotiations for the next $700 million tranche commenced on Thursday.
According to ARY News, reports indicate that the IMF team has emphasised the importance of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) achieving its tax collection revenue targets without any shortfall.
Furthermore, the IMF team has called for a report from the FBR on the progress of tax cases pending in court.
The FBR has shared details of one million new taxpayers added to the tax net with the IMF team, and the IMF has requested specific data on tax collection from various sectors.
