In a sign of how cash-strapped Pakistan’s citizens are bearing the brunt of the economic and political uncertainty in the country, the annual report of the finance ministry has revealed that the debt burden of every citizen has gone up by 21 per cent to Rs 2,16,708 this year.
Admitting that the previous year’s fiscal policies are responsible for economic instability, the statement showed that per person debt burden increased from Rs 1,79,100 in June 2021 to Rs 2,16,708 by June 2022. There was also an additional liability of Rs 37,608, or 21 per cent, on every citizen in just one year.
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was in power in the first nine months of the previous fiscal year before the cricketer-turned-politician was shown the door. In the last quarter, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was handling the country’s reins.
The ministry’s report, which has not yet been made public, is expected to be laid before the National Assembly next week
The numbers also reveal that the gross public debt jumped to Rs 49.2 trillion by June 2022, which has now increased further.
Over one-fifth increase in per capita debt in one year indicates the speed at which the country is sinking under the debt burden. The unproductive nature of growth made the country susceptible to unfavourable domestic and global economic shocks, stated the report.
Apart from internal factors, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict are also majorly responsible for the downside, according to the document. “The sharp (V-shaped) economic recovery after control over Covid-19, coupled with the international market dynamics in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has put the country into a crisis in terms of high fiscal deficit,” said the policy statement.
It was also revealed that the previous government missed last fiscal year’s annual budget deficit target of Rs 3.4 trillion and the actual deficit came in at Rs 5.3 trillion, the record deficit in a fiscal year. In terms of the size of economy, the total fiscal deficit was equal to 7.9 per cent of GDP, whereas the primary deficit remained at 3.1 per cent.
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