External Loans: Pakistan’s borrowing jumps 200% to $5.45 billion in first quarter

Economic Affairs Division figures show Pakistan secured $5.45 billion in external loans from July to September, with international bonds accounting for the largest share.

Pakistan’s external borrowing rose by around 200% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, reaching $5.4496 billion between July and September, according to Economic Affairs Division documents.

The government borrowed $3.63 billion more than the $1.81 billion secured during the same period last year, highlighting its increased reliance on foreign financing.

In rupee terms, the external borrowing amounted to approximately Rs1.515 trillion during the three-month period, more than Rs1 trillion above the amount recorded a year earlier.

International bonds accounted for the largest share of the financing. Pakistan raised $2.94 billion through bond issuances during the first quarter, according to the documents.

The government also received $942.7 million through Naya Pakistan Certificates and obtained another $300 million from foreign commercial banks.

Pakistan secured $894.1 million from international financial institutions during the period, while various countries provided a further $58.1 million.

Among multilateral lenders, the World Bank contributed $359 million, while the Asian Development Bank provided $153.5 million.

The figures cover several sources of external financing as the government continues to meet its funding requirements through foreign borrowing.

Basant 2027: Punjab cabinet approves Lahore festival dates for March 12–14

The documents also show that non-project loans accounted for more than Rs1.26 trillion of the external financing acquired during the first quarter.

Project loans provided a further Rs254.8 billion for various initiatives.

The breakdown indicates that non-project financing made up the larger share of borrowing during the July–September period.

The sharp year-on-year increase underscores Pakistan’s greater use of external financing in the opening months of the fiscal year. The figures alone, however, do not establish how much of the borrowing was used to repay existing debt or finance new spending.