Punjab Rejects Reports of Rs 405bn Borrowing from SBP, Cites Surplus Funds

Lahore: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari has categorically denied media reports claiming that the Punjab government borrowed Rs 405 billion from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Calling the reports “entirely false and based on a misunderstanding of financial matters,” the minister asserted, “Punjab has not borrowed even a single rupee from the central bank… The amount mentioned in the report is actually the Punjab government’s investment in federal government T-bills, aimed at earning profit, not borrowing.”

Bukhari stressed that Punjab remains a “surplus province” with more than Rs 1 trillion in its accounts, dismissing the notion of any need for provincial borrowing. She further clarified that no provincial institution has taken loans, suggesting the institutions referred to in the report were federal, not under Punjab’s jurisdiction.

Highlighting the SBP Act of 2019, which prohibits both federal and provincial governments from borrowing directly from the central bank, Bukhari criticized the journalist behind the report for ignoring this legal provision. “It is surprising that the writer of the report does not even know this basic law,” she remarked, adding that publishing “false and contrary to facts” news was irresponsible. She also warned of possible legal action if such reporting continued.

However, the State Bank’s own data appears to contradict Punjab’s position. According to the Broad Money Report published on August 19, 2025 (with data updated until August 8), the Punjab government has borrowed Rs 405 billion from the central bank.

The same report shows Sindh borrowing Rs 15.78 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 21.63 billion, and Balochistan Rs 13.65 billion, all under the category of “borrowings for budgetary support.”

The SBP report clarifies that this classification reflects “government’s borrowing net of Federal, Provincial, Azad Kashmir’s and Gilgit-Baltistan’s deposit with SBP and Scheduled Banks. The (-) sign in govt. deposits shows a credit balance whereas (+) sign shows their debtor/withdrawal from the system.”

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