Pakistan retires record Rs1.2tn domestic debt ahead of maturity: Khurram Schehzad

Business Recorder reported that Pakistan has made its biggest early repayment of domestic debt so far, paying back Rs1.2 trillion to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) before the scheduled maturity date. Khurram Schehzad, an adviser to the finance minister, disclosed the figure on Saturday in a post on the social media platform X. He described the tranche as the largest single early-retirement amount recorded to date, above the earlier peak of Rs1.133 trillion.

The total of domestic obligations cleared before their due dates now stands above Rs5.92 trillion, which he presented as evidence of faster momentum in recent years. Schehzad's figures show Rs1.8 trillion was retired early in FY25, Rs2.9 trillion in FY26, which was 62% higher, and another Rs1.2 trillion so far in FY27.

He said the repayments form part of a wider move toward active management of sovereign liabilities, which reduces refinancing and rollover risks and lowers future debt-servicing pressures. Schehzad added that Pakistan is shifting from only handling maturities to strengthening the public debt profile, a change he expects to create more fiscal space for the economy.