ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday presented the federal budget 2024-25 in the National Assembly with a total outlay of Rs18 trillion as the government eyes to secure a long-term International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
The National Assembly (NA) session began with a two-hour delay as key coalition partner Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was displeased with the budget proposals. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also in attendance.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmakers have staged a protest in the National Assembly in a bid to disrupt the speech of the finance minister.
The NA session is chaired by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also in attending the session.
The government is presenting the budget at a time when Pakistan is deliberating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a package of up to $8 billion.
Earlier, Pakistan’s federal cabinet today approved proposals for the annual budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 during a special meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The federal cabinet approved a 25% increase in the salaries of government employees. The said increment has been approved for the employees from Grade 1 to 16. Whereas, the government also approved an increase of 20% in the salaries of grade 17 to 22 employees.
The cabinet endorsed all proposals for the budget.
The federal cabinet also approves a comprehensive package for youth, farmers, and industries. The details of all the schemes will be announced by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in his budget speech on the National Assembly floor later today.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led allied government is set to unveil its first Rs18.5 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, aiming to secure a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will present the budget in the National Assembly, with the ministry having completed its preparations.
The budget comes a day after the government’s acknowledgment that economic growth is expected to reach 2.4% this year, missing the target of 3.5%. However, revenues have increased by 30% compared to last year, and both fiscal and current account deficits are under control.
For the next fiscal year, the government is expected to set the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) tax collection target at Rs12.97 trillion, up from the revised estimate of Rs9.252 trillion for the outgoing financial year.
The FBR had previously revised the tax collection target downwards to Rs9.2 trillion from the initial target of Rs9.415 trillion, which was approved by parliament for the 2023-24 budget.
