ISLAMABAD: The federal government has allocated Rs5,290.49 million to train 120,000 youth in IT and digital skills under the Prime Minister’s Youth Skills Development Programme.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aura­n­g­zeb, in his budget speech, highlighted the importance of the country’s youth population, describing it as Pakistan’s biggest asset. He said 67 per cent of the country’s population is below the age of 30.

“Our youth possess a strong spirit for acquiring skills and utilising them for the development of the country,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has resolved that every Pakistani youth should have access to modern skills and training in various trades, enabling them to actively contribute to the country’s progress and development.

However, despite these claims and the rising unemployment rate, the budget contains no specific allocation for employment generation or any dedicated jobs programme, apart from the Rs5,290.49m earmarked for training 120,000 youth under the existing PM’s programme. Moreover, the government has recently merged and shut down several departments, resulting in the layoff of thousands of workers. Some departments and organisations have also been privatised.

The government is also planning to privatise additional entities despite protests from employees and labour union representatives.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2026