Islamabad: The federal government has sought post-facto approval from Parliament for a record additional expenditure of Rs 3.684 trillion, which has raised several questions regarding budgeting and fiscal discipline.
According to documents presented by the Ministry of Finance in the National Assembly, this amount was spent in various sectors during the last fiscal year as expenditure in excess of the approved budget. This volume is more than four times the additional grants of Rs 895 billion approved last year.
According to the documents, the largest part of the additional expenditure came in the form of interest on loans and repayment of dues, where about Rs 2.6 trillion was spent additionally. In addition, Rs430 billion was spent for the power sector, Rs38 billion for various subsidies and grants, Rs 23 billion for the defense division and Rs22 billion for civil works.
The Finance Ministry maintains that these expenditures were such that they could neither be met from the current budget nor deferred. That is why the government, declaring them necessary, decided to seek approval from the parliament later.
Approval for additional expenditures of about Rs485 billion has also been sought for the fiscal year 2025-26. Of this, Rs 127.5 billion has been allocated for grants and subsidies, Rs 112 billion for the power sector, Rs 57 billion for education, Rs34 billion for defence, Rs 30 billion for health and Rs 22.4 billion for social security programs.
Budget documents show that additional funds have also been released for the information and broadcasting sector, including about Rs 11 billion for Pakistan Television and Rs 2.8 billion for an English news channel. Similarly, additional funds have been allocated for the Pakistan Virtual Assets Authority and the Pakistan Digital Authority.
In the education sector, a total of more than Rs 54 billion was provided for Danish Education Trust, Quaid-e-Azam University, Cadet College Hassan Abdal and Pakistan Education Endowment Fund. In the health sector, Rs30 billion was spent on the purchase of vaccines and related medical equipment.
Economists say that such large-scale additional expenditures raise questions about the accuracy of budget estimates and financial planning. According to them, if the expenditures continue to exceed the approved budget repeatedly, the purpose of parliamentary oversight may be weakened.
Now Parliament will consider these additional grants; however, it is considered almost impossible to reject the funds that have been spent constitutionally because these funds have already been used.
