According to the statement quoted by the Express Tribune newspaper, the increase in debt during the first two years of the PTI was more than the total debt the previous government had taken in its five-year term.
According to the ministry, that total public debt as of June 30, 2020, increased to Rs36.3 trillion or 87% of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) -- an addition of Rs11.35tr or 45% in the total public debt in the past two years.
According to the spokesperson, “About 42% of the additional debt in the past two years was due to debt servicing expenses and another 31% because of currency devaluation.”
Independent experts have criticised the PTI government for keeping the interest rate artificially high at 13.25% and devaluing the currency more than the requirements.
In July, the State Bank of Pakistan had said in a report that under the PTI government, the debt was increasing at an average pace of Rs14 billion per day.
According to the central bank, the debt --excluding its liabilities that it indirectly owes to the creditors -- had reached Rs34.5tr by the end of May 2020, an increase of at least Rs4.7 trillion in a single year.