After coming into power with claims and slogans of rescuing the country from the vicious circle of debt, the PTI government has shattered the previous records and upstaged the PML-N in just first two years of its term, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

Never mind the chats and statements and speeches. The actual position is that the PTI government obtained a total amount of Rs11,350 billion as loan in 2018-20 against Rs10,204 billion during the 2013-18 tenure of PML-N.

However, this amount doesn’t cover $5 billion received from different friendly countries. Hence, the total stands at Rs12,200 billion if the abovementioned money is added.

According to the finance ministry, there has been a 45 percent increase in the government debt during the last two years. Thus, the volume of debt surged to Rs363 trillion on June 30, 2020, which represents 87 percent of the GDP. 

When the ratio is compared with the position on June 30, 2018 [the year the PML-N completed its five-year-tenure], it was 72.5 percent of the GDP with the total debt of Rs249.50 trillion.

Furthermore, the domestic debt has been hiked by 41.4 percent so far during the PTI rule with the total amount recorded at Rs232 trillion after an increase of Rs68 trillion. When it comes to the foreign debt, the amount now stands at Rs131 trillion after an increase of Rs46 trillion which represents a 54 percent jump.

Further analysis of this rise in debt reveals that 42 percent of this increase is caused by interest and repayment of previous debt and 31 percent by devaluation while an amount of Rs2 trillion was obtained to cover the other expenses.