The fiscal deficit of the federal government has reached Rs4,337 billion in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal year. The government's income is Rs5,313 billion while expenditures have exceeded Rs9,651 billion.

According to the details released by the Ministry of Finance, during the first nine months of the fiscal year, Rs5,517 billion were spent as interest on loans. According to the report, the Federal Bureau of Revenue collected Rs6,711 billion in tax in nine months, while Rs3,815 billion were transferred to the provinces under the National Finance Commission. Moreover, non-tax revenue of Rs2,416 billion was recorded from July to March.

A record Rs719.59 billion were collected from consumers under the petroleum levy, which is Rs357 billion more than last year.

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On the other hand, the ongoing expenditures of the government have exceeded Rs9,201 billion, Rs1,222 billion was spent on defence, Rs454 billion on development projects, Rs473 billion on subsidies, and more than Rs611 billion on pension payments.

Furthermore, Rs518 billion were incurred in running the government's civil affairs in the last nine months.

According to the monthly economic update outlook report, inflation falls between 18.5% and 19.5% this month, while it is expected to further decrease to 17.5% in May. The growth rate was 2.5% and 1% in the first and second quarters, respectively.

In the report, the payment of external loans and heavy interest have been declared a big challenge for the financial situation. According to the Finance Ministry, the financial deficit has increased by 34.8% to Rs3,224 billion in eight months. Financial discipline must be ensured for sustainable economic development.

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According to the ministry, economic growth will be moderate this year and better next year. In the first nine months of the financial year, the financial and external sectors have improved. In the first half of the year, the agricultural sector has improved by 5% to 8.6%.

However, the performance of major industries remained unsatisfactory compared to their target.