With decision to restart regular classes, Shafqat Mahmood no longer ‘children’s prime minister’

In this photo, Pakistan's education minister Shafqat Mehmood gestures during an event in Pakistan Academy of letters in Islamabad on February 13, 2020. (Photo courtesy: Shafqat Mehmood Twitter)
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Updated 26 February 2021
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With decision to restart regular classes, Shafqat Mahmood no longer ‘children’s prime minister’

  • Mahmood’s announcement on Thursday that five-day classes would restart at schools from March 1 has not won him any fans
  • ‘No more pawri,’ one disappointed social media user writes; ‘he is no longer my friend,’ another user says about Mahmood

RAWALPINDI: Pakistani Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood has become a favorite among Pakistan’s school-going children during the coronavirus pandemic when schools remained shut for much of the year — so much so that memes calling him “the prime minister of children” have become ubiquitous on social media platforms in Pakistan. 

So it was only expected that Mahmood’s announcement yesterday, Thursday, that regular five-day classes would restart at schools from March 1, has not won him any fans. 

In response, one young user posted: “Breaking news! COVID is completely defeated in Pakistan!”

One Twitter user put up a picture of the minister and wrote, “He is no longer my friend.”

Another user created a meme with the caption: “The worst thing about betrayal is that it never comes from an enemy.”

Another user expressed sorrow at having to meet real people again and do handwritten assignments: 

One user shared a popular meme of IT workers hugging each other with the caption: “Pakistani parents right now,” referring to parents’ relief not to have their kids at home all the time anymore:

And lastly and with resignation, one Twitter user tapped into the most popular social media trend of the subcontinent and said: “No more pawri.”


Pakistan says repaid over $13.06 billion domestic debt early in last 14 months

Updated 29 January 2026
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Pakistan says repaid over $13.06 billion domestic debt early in last 14 months

  • Finance adviser says repayment shows “decisive shift” toward fiscal discipline, responsible economic management
  • Says Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over $286.6 billion in June 2025 to $284.7 billion in November 2025

KARACHI: Pakistan has repaid Rs3,650 billion [$13.06 billion] in domestic debt before time during the last 14 months, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said on Thursday, adding that the achievement reflected a shift in the country’s approach toward fiscal discipline. 

Schehzad said Pakistan has been repaying its debt before maturity, owed to the market as well as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), since December 2024. He said the government had repaid the central bank Rs300 billion [$1.08 billion] in its latest repayment on Thursday. 

“This landmark achievement reflects a decisive shift toward fiscal discipline, credibility, and responsible economic management,” Schehzad wrote on social media platform X. 

Giving a breakdown of what he said was Pakistan’s “early debt retirement journey,” the finance official said Pakistan retired Rs1,000 billion [$3.576 billion] in December 2024, Rs500 billion [$1.78 billion] in June 2025, Rs1,160 billion [$4.150 billion] in August 2025, Rs200 billion [$715 million] in October 2025, Rs494 billion [$1.76 billion] in December 2025 and $1.08 billion in January 2026. 

He said with the latest debt repaid today, the July to January period of fiscal year 2026 alone recorded Rs2,150 billion [$7.69 billion] in early retirement, which was 44 percent higher than the debt retired in FY25.

He said of the total early repayments, the government has repaid 65 percent of the central bank’s debt, 30 percent of the treasury bills debt and five percent of the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) debt. 

The official said Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over Rs 80.5 trillion [$286.6 billion] in June 2025 to Rs80 trillion [$284.7 billion] in November 2025. 

“Crucially, Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio, around 74 percent in FY22, has declined to around 70 percent, reflecting a broader strengthening of fiscal fundamentals alongside disciplined debt management,” Schehzad wrote. 

Pakistan’s government has said the country’s fragile economy is on an upward trajectory. The South Asian country has been trying to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.