ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday met senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership to discuss the budget of the country for the fiscal year 2024-25 which the federal government is set to present in June.
The meeting, attended by PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf, Cheif Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Naveed Qamar, and Sherry Rehman along with Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Adviser to PM on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar, and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar also mulled over the prevailing political situation in the country.
The federal government intends to present the budget for the next fiscal year on June 7, according to media reports.
PML-N Needs PPP’s Support in Budget Approval
The high-level meeting comes as the PM Shehbaz-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government will need the PPP’s support to pass the budget as it lacks the required majority in the National Assembly to do so on its own.
The two parties, following the February 8 elections, agreed to join hands with the PPP supporting the PML-N in the election of Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s prime minister in exchange for various constitutional posts such as Senate Chairman, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governors etc.
The passing of the FY2024-25 budget holds importance as Pakistan, in April, made a formal request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for seeking the next bailout package in the range of 6 to 8 billion dollars under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
An IMF team, led by Nathan Porter, the agency’s Mission Chief to Pakistan, visited Islamabad during May 13-23, to discuss the country’s plans for a home-grown economic programme that can be supported under the EFF.
The IMF team had secured relevant data on all major economic fronts and informed the relevant authorities what kind of budget the Fund staff would like to see in the next financial year.
Although the global lender has acknowledged making significant progress with Islamabad toward reaching a Staff Level Agreement on a comprehensive economic policy and reform programme, it has conditioned the next bailout package with the approval of the aligned budget.
