LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is deeply concerned by the implications of the 2025–26 federal budget for the economic and social rights of the country’s most vulnerable communities.

Adopted under a strict austerity framework aligned with IMF conditionalities, the budget offers little protection to low-income groups already struggling with the prolonged inflationary crisis from 2022 to 2024.

Although the government has marginally reduced income tax rates for salaried individuals, this relief is insufficient to restore the eroded purchasing power of working-class households. More troubling is the decision not to raise the federal minimum wage, which remains at Rs37,000 per month — a figure that fails to meet the basic cost of living for a family of six. Even in provinces like Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the minimum wage has been raised to Rs40,000, the increase does not compensate for inflation-induced losses in real income. Moreover, enforcement remains alarmingly weak, with 80 per cent of industries in Sindh reportedly not complying with minimum wage laws — a trend mirrored nationwide.

The allocations for key social sectors — health (0.96pc of GDP), education (1.06pc), and social protection (1.1pc) — fall far below international benchmarks and regional comparators. In contrast, countries like India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh spend significantly more as a percentage of GDP on these essential services.

Speaking at a press briefing held by HRCP earlier today, economist Dr Fahd Ali pointed out that a time when 45pc of Pakistanis live below the poverty line and 88pc earn less than Rs75,000 per month — the amount advocated by HRCP as a living wage — this budget signals a worrying lack of commitment to social justice and human dignity.

HRCP Secretary-General Harris Khalique said that he was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the finance minister’s failure to raise the minimum wage while having announced an ‘exponential and disproportionate increase’ in parliamentarians’ salaries.

HRCP Punjab vice-chair Raja Ashraf said that the provision of healthcare and education was the state’s responsibility, while HRCP senior manager Feroza Batool pointed out that women were disproportionately affected by anti-poor budgets.

“The budget’s implications for ordinary citizens’ economic and social rights must be debated in minute detail before it is passed,” added HRCP treasurer Husain Naqi.

HRCP urges the federal and provincial governments to reconsider their fiscal priorities and ensure that “economic recovery plans centre the rights and needs of Pakistan’s most marginalised. Without adequate investment in public health, education, and a meaningful social safety net, the promise of equal citizenship remains hollow for millions. The right to a life with dignity cannot be balanced against fiscal restraint — it must be at the heart of it.”

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2025