Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah of Sindh has presented a budget of PKR 3,056 billion for 2024-25, which is the Sindh government’s substantial debt, which reached PKR 1,341 billion in the last fiscal year.
In the previous fiscal year of 2023-24, Sindh’s debt increased by 26%, escalating from PKR 1,057 billion to PKR 1,341 billion. This substantial rise in debt includes a PKR 325 billion increase over the year despite the government repaying PKR 41.65 billion in loans.
The fiscal year 2024-25 budget documents revealed that the increase was largely attributed to new borrowings from Japanese sources and various international donor agencies, which added another PKR 325 billion to the debt tally.
Additionally, the documents detail that the Sindh government paid off PKR 40 billion in foreign loans, bringing the total foreign debt at the close of the last fiscal year to PKR 1,328.9 billion. Regarding local debt, the government reported repayments of PKR 1.48 billion, decreasing local debt levels from PKR 13.73 billion to PKR 12.24 billion.
Looking ahead, the Sindh government has earmarked the largest allocation of PKR 334 billion for developmental projects in the current fiscal year. This figure surpasses the borrowing plans of other provincial governments, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is set to borrow PKR 131 billion for similar purposes.
