ISLAMABAD: The federal government of Pakistan will unveil the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2023-24, which is a pre-budget document having details of important socio-economic achievements during the outgoing fiscal year at 5 pm today.
According to an official statement, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will present the survey pre-budget document in the National Assembly.
The survey comes before the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, which is scheduled to be presented on June 12.
The coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is likely to bring ambitious fiscal targets in the Budget 2024-25 that will help to strengthen its case for a new bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), officials and analysts said.
Facing severe financial constraints and slashing the development funding under the IMF programme, the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) has proposed Rs1,221 billion for the development programme at the federal level for the financial year 2024-25. It would be the first budget of the incumbent government.
As Pakistan is trying to secure a loan programme to avoid a default in a slow-paced economy, the international lender has asked the country to raise provincial taxes, particularly on agriculture, property tax and sales tax on services.
Pakistan is currently in negotiations with the IMF for a loan worth $6 billion to $8 billion to avert a default for an economy that is moving ahead at the slowest pace in the region.
Ali Hasanain, associate professor of economics at the Lahore University of Management Sciences said the budget has a critical significance for Pakistan’s IMF programme and must close the gap between the revenue collection and total expenditure.
Pakistan narrowly escaped a default last summer after a short-term IMF bailout of $3 billion over nine months.
The growth target for the next fiscal year is expected to be higher at 3.6% compared to 2% this year.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his commitment to tough reforms since being elected in February, but high prices and unemployment have increased political pressure on his coalition government.
Pakistan is looking to make its first major sale in two decades as it sells a stake in its national flag career. It is likely to be the first in a series of sales of loss-making entities, especially in the troubled power sector.
