Islamabad— Pakistan had promised full consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in preparing the budget for 2025-26, but the two sides have not yet reached an agreement on the basic points, due to which the budget presentation date has been extended from June 2 to June 10.
According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, the Economic Survey will be presented on June 9, while the budget will be presented in the National Assembly the next day. Sources say that during the negotiations, Pakistan gave a detailed briefing on tax reforms, increasing non-tax revenues, and a framework for increasing provincial revenues.
Pakistan’s team presented a comprehensive strategy on providing relief to the salaried class, reducing industrial costs, and agricultural income tax, but the IMF did not seem completely satisfied with these proposals.
According to sources in the Ministry of Finance, including the IMF’s opinion in the budget is a key condition of the loan program, and a new round of negotiations is expected next week.
This development reflects the fact that Pakistan is making serious efforts to achieve fiscal stability with the cooperation of international financial institutions, however, balancing the budget has become a critical challenge.
