Pakistan’s federal government debt has reached the highest level in the country’s history. According to the State Bank report, the federal government’s debt has reached the highest level in the country’s history of Rs 70,366 billion as of November 2024. The federal government’s dependence on debt has further increased. The State Bank of Pakistan has released data on federal government debt up to November 2024. According to the State Bank document, during the first 5 months of the current fiscal year from July to November 2024, the federal government’s debt increased by Rs 1,452 billion, while the central government’s debt increased by Rs 1,252 billion in the month of November. According to the document, in the year from December 2023 to November 2024, an increase of Rs 6,975 billion was recorded in the federal government’s debt. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the volume of federal government debt until November 2024 was Rs 70,366 billion, of which local debt was Rs 48,585 billion and external debt was Rs 48,585 billion. The share was Rs 21,780 billion. On the other hand, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trend during trading on Monday, as a result of which the benchmark KSE 100 Index recorded a decline of about 1,332 points .
The market opened in a positive zone. At one point, the benchmark index reached a high of 118,765 points during trading. However, the selling trend soon took over the market, which pushed the 100 index to a low of 115,941. At the end of the trading, the benchmark index closed at 116,255.13 points, down 1,331.86 points or 1.13 percent. Selling pressure was seen in key sectors including commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Shares of Hubco, PSO, Shell, SSGC, MARI, OGDC, PPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL and NBP were on the downside.