LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Friday congratulated Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and his team on presenting the fifth federal budget, describing it as a relief-oriented package aimed at extending the benefits of economic recovery to the common man.

In a statement, the chief minister paid tribute to the prime minister and his economic team for introducing what she termed a welfare budget, saying the time had come for the dividends of economic improvement to reach ordinary citizens.

The CM said the budget would ease the burden on the salaried class and pave the way for greater public relief through industrial and agricultural growth.

“The welfare-oriented budget will ensure that every segment of society becomes part of the country’s economic progress,” she added.

Worst budget in country’s history, says HKP

HKP: The Haqooq-e-Khalq Party (HKP) has rejected the federal budget, labeling it “one of the worst budgets in the country’s history” for prioritising the privileges of the elite while crushing the working class under historic inflation.

HKP President Farooq Tariq declared that the budget was explicitly designed to appease international financial institutions rather than to rescue struggling citizens.

“This budget will bring joy to global financial institutions, but misery to Pakistanis. Crafted entirely under the dictates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it stands as a historic disaster for our people,” Tariq stated.

The party highlighted a stark contrast in how the government was treating different economic classes. According to it, the budget slashed taxes for the wealthy, while offering no real relief to the masses. Tariq noted that the super tax previously imposed on the wealthiest segments of society had been virtually eliminated. While taxes on the rich are being reduced, wage increases for ordinary workers have completely failed to match the crushing pace of inflation.

The HKP slammed the government’s proposed salary and wage hikes as insulting and completely out of touch with economic reality.

The government has proposed a seven percent salary increase for government employees, which the HKP states does not match inflation in any way.

He said the party rejects this entirely and demands a minimum 50pc increase instead. It also rejected the proposed 10pc increase in the minimum wage – from Rs40,000 to Rs44,000 – arguing that no family could survive on it. It demanded that instead, the minimum wage be set to at least Rs80,000 per month immediately.

TPGWF: Niaz Khan of the Textile Powerloom Garment Workers Federation has rejected the increase announced in the minimum wage, demanding that minimum wages must be linked to real living costs, including food, housing, healthcare, education, transportation, social protection, and emergency savings.

He said workers who continued to earn below a living wage remained trapped in debt, insecurity, and economic vulnerability despite full-time employment.

He called for a transparent, rights-based wage determination system based on inflation, family size, and essential living expenses.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2026