LAHORE: The civil society representatives concluded that the 2026/27 ‘austerity budget’ had systematically undermined low-income household welfare, labour protections and gender equality.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) organised a seminar on Tuesday.

Moderating the seminar, economist Dr Fahd Ali observed that lower public spending on education, health, social protection, and nutrition would deepen existing inequalities. At the household level, he argued, changing consumption patterns and declining nutritional quality reflected growing economic distress. At a time when the estimated living wage substantially exceeded the statutory minimum wage, stronger enforcement of labour protections was essential to ensuring an adequate standard of living, he said.

Economist Dr Hadia Majid argued that the budget’s gender commitments appeared largely rhetorical.

“While social protection allocations under the Benazir Income Support Programme had increased, these transfers were not enough to meet people’s basic nutritional needs. The tax relief measures announced were also unlikely to benefit most women, given low female participation in formal employment.” She said the budget had failed to address the structural barriers limiting women’s economic participation.

Labour leader and APTUF secretary general Rubina Jamil criticised the budget as prioritising expenditure that did little to address the needs of working people, while offering limited protections for those most vulnerable to economic insecurity. Developed without consultation with workers, she said that it lacked targeted measures for contract workers, domestic and home-based workers, workers in hazardous sectors, garment workers, agricultural workers, and pensioners.

Economist Dr Aqdas Afzal observed that despite rising remittances and headline poverty indicators, the budget reflected an economy that had not undergone meaningful structural reform. He added that social protection was insufficient and unevenly targeted, with serious implications for households below the poverty line.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026