Budget likely to be announced on June 12, says minister
0
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Tuesday that the budget for the next fiscal year (FY2026-27) would likely be presented in the parliament on June 12 (Friday).
He posted this on X, further stating that summaries to convene budget sessions in the National Assembly and Senate on June 10 (Wednesday) had been sent to the presidency for approval.
The sessions for the NA and the Senate have been advised to be summoned at 5pm and 4pm, respectively, Chaudhry added.
Before Chaudhry’s statement, uncertainty had surrounded the date for the budget’s presentation as the federal government, its coalition partners and provincial governments struggled to reach a consensus over the Centre’s demand for more than Rs1 trillion for strategic needs.
The meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) was postponed for the third time on Monday at the last moment amid continuing negotiations over the freezing of provincial shares in the federal divisible pool under the NFC Award.
Muzzammil Aslam, adviser on finance to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, confirmed that the Centre had told provinces that their financial shares under the NFC for the current year would not be increased next year and that any amount above the current year’s share would have to be returned to the Centre.
According to Aslam, the provinces had protested the demand as it would push provincial budgets into deficit and make it difficult for them to run their governments. He said the federal government team suggested that provinces could freeze salaries and limit development schemes.
Aslam said a date for the NEC meeting was uncertain, as many issues that had developed over time were too significant to be settled ahead of the council’s meeting. As a result, the federal budget scheduled for June 10 could slip further, as there was “no way forward in sight” and consensus between the Centre and provinces appeared distant, he said.
On the other hand, the PML-N-led government and its major ally, the PPP, on Monday reached a consensus on the broad framework of the federal budget.
The two sides met for a third round of talks at Aiwan-i-Sadr, with President Asif Ali Zardari in the chair and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif leading the PML-N team.
The talks, attended by political bigwigs from both sides, were held in two phases — first at the delegation level and then in a final round involving top leadership.
Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the government had reached a “complete understanding” with the PPP on the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and the development budget.
He added that top-level political consultations and delegation-level talks would continue to address the remaining budgetary demands.
