ISLAMABAD – Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will present the federal budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 in the National Assembly on June 12, while the government has started finalising the economic strategy, development priorities and fiscal discipline targets for the next fiscal year.
According to the schedule issued by Advisor to the Finance Minister Khurram Shahzad, the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26 will also be presented on June 12 before the budget, which will include a detailed review of the economic performance of the current fiscal year.
President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned the budget sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate, after which a formal discussion on the fiscal framework for the next fiscal year will begin in the parliament.
In this regard, an important meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The meeting considered federal and provincial development projects, resource allocation and the national development program for the next fiscal year.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while addressing the meeting, said that the federation had consulted all the provinces very seriously and decisions were taken keeping the national interest in mind. He said that in the current economic situation, all institutions and governments will have to demonstrate shared responsibility so that the journey of Pakistan’s economic recovery becomes more stable.
The NEC meeting was held after being postponed three times, as negotiations were underway between the federation and the provinces regarding the distribution of resources under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award. According to sources, the government is trying to create the required financial space for defense and other strategic needs while maintaining national financial stability.
A consensus has emerged on the basic features of the budget between the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party, which are part of the government coalition. Both parties have supported controlling the fiscal deficit and allocating resources for national priorities by adopting a cautious strategy in development and other expenditures.
The government has set the overall national development programme for the next fiscal year at Rs 4.715 trillion, which is being considered one of the largest development programmes in the country’s history. The largest share of provincial annual development plans in this program is Rs 3.138 trillion, while Rs 1.126 trillion has been allocated for the federal PSDP.
The government is also accelerating efforts to document the economy. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says that bringing the informal economy into the tax net is one of the government’s priorities. With this aim, the Fixed Tax Asan scheme has been recently introduced to make small traders and shopkeepers part of the tax system.
Economic experts say that the upcoming budget is likely to focus on fiscal discipline, tax reforms, development spending and new facilities for overseas Pakistanis. The government hopes that these measures will help in achieving the goals of economic stability, investment promotion and sustainable development.
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