Pakistan external debt jumps by 70%

Pakistan’s external debt servicing rose by 70 per cent in the first two quarters of 2022-23, worsening the shortage of dollars, Dawn reported.
In the first half of the fiscal year, Pakistan paid USD 10.21 billion in external debt servicing while in the same period of 2021-22, the country paid USD 6 billion, State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) data showed. As per the data, Pakistan had to pay USD 6.77 billion, an unusually high amount, in external debt servicing in October-December. The amount of debt servicing in the second quarter of 2022-23 was almost twice the sum (USD 3.45 billion) that the country paid in the preceding quarter of the same fiscal year. Such a high level of debt servicing in the first half of 2022-23 drastically reduced the foreign exchange reserves of the SBP, which is responsible for such payments. Foreign exchange reserves of the SBP are hovering around USD 3.2 billion, according to Dawn.
The inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other global institutions could not be unlocked despite a long spell of talks with the Washington-based lender in Pakistan.
Pakistan and International Monetary Fund failed to reach a staff-level agreement to unlock the USD 1.1 billion loan tranche after 10 days of “tough” talks The negotiations which took place between IMF and Pakistan from January 31 to February 9, concluded in Islamabad. The IMF’s mission had arrived in Islamabad to hold talks with Pakistani authorities.