Pakistan: Government expenses shoots up to nearly PKR 1.1 trn

ISLAMABAD: The present expenditures of the Pakistan government had gone up to nearly PKR 1.1 trillion, indicating that the funds had turned irrelevant, local media reported.

During the July-August period of the current fiscal year, over 71 per cent of the current expenses were on the head of two accounts, one is the interest payments on loans and the second one was defence, The Express Tribune reported.

After the expenditure went over the budget, the Pakistani government is left with very little to spend on the welfare and development of the country.

However, Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund that if monthly fiscal operations data indicate that spending is running higher than the first quarter and subsequent target; this will trigger immediate remedial action to put in place the contingency revenue measures.

The initial trend indicates that even if the floods had not struck Pakistan, it was impossible to achieve the primary budget surplus target of PKR 153 billion the government agreed with the IMF.

The early data compiled by the Ministry of Finance showed that during the first two months of the fiscal year, the current expenditures amounted to PKR 1.09 trillion, which was equal to 12.5 per cent of the annual allocations. The current expenditures were also PKR 43 billion or 4.1 per cent higher than the previous fiscal year, reported The Express Tribune.

A major chunk -over PKR 580 billion -was spent on the mere debt servicing of the previously obtained loans. The spending on debt was PKR 156 billion or 37 per cent higher than the previous fiscal year. It was an alarming trend, which suggests that Pakistan can no more spend on anything except servicing its debt or paying for the salaries of the armed forces and civilian employees.

Another chunk of PKR 191 billion was spent on defence - PKR 28 billion or 17 per cent more than the previous fiscal year.

In comparison to the cumulative spending on debt and defence, development expenditure is mere or little as it amounted to only PKR 28 billion, which is PKR 35 billion or 56 per cent less than the previous fiscal year.

The PKR 773 billion spending was 46 per cent or PKR 245 billion more than the net income of the federal government during the July-August period, according to The Express Tribune.