{
  "id": 1596154,
  "title": "Cost of fiscal stability",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/cost-of-fiscal-stability",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-18T00:22:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40435259/cost-of-fiscal-stability"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The report highlights the mixed fiscal situation faced by the Pakistani government since 2022, when Shehbaz Sharif became premier. Public debt has risen to 77% of GDP, but has declined as a percentage of GDP due to the government running primary fiscal surpluses over three consecutive years. However, debt servicing has increased to 66% of net federal revenues in FY26, down from 122% in FY23. The focus should not merely be on reducing debt, but also on reducing borrowing for non-productive purposes and addressing structural weaknesses such as broadening the tax base, improving social spending, reducing regulatory footprint, and enhancing governance.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}