LAHORE: Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman has strongly criticised the opposition, stating that the Leader of the Opposition spent the last five days debating the budget without any preparation and remained entirely unaware of the actual funds allocated for proposed projects.

Concluding the debate on the provincial budget for the upcoming fiscal year in the Punjab Assembly, the finance minister addressed various allegations while detailing the government’s fiscal performance and major welfare allocations.

He highlighted the government’s high efficiency in utilising funds and hitting revenue targets during the current fiscal year. He announced that the provincial government successfully utilised 93 per cent of its development budget and achieved 99pc of its revenue target.

Regarding regional development, the government has allocated Rs556 billion for 387 schemes in south Punjab, alongside Rs38bn earmarked for the Katcha riverine areas. For public welfare, the administration has set aside Rs29bn for the Health Card, Rs12.5bn for the Kisan Card, and Rs5bn for the Dhee Rani Programme.

Mujtaba trumpets govt performance, claiming that opposition leader entirelyunaware of actual allocations

The minister specifically clarified that the Health Card programme has not been shut down, but has instead been redesigned to be more effective and efficient.

Dismissing the opposition’s corruption allegations as completely baseless, the minister pointed instead to international reporting metrics. He stated that according to reports by international organisations, Pakistan’s position on the corruption index has actually improved by four degrees over the last two years compared to the previous Buzdar administration.

He added that had Nawaz Sharif’s past governments not been repeatedly ousted, Pakistan’s economic situation today would have been vastly superior.

Turning to the ongoing political deadlock, the finance minister emphasised that the current government did not file politically motivated cases against its rivals. He remarked that the opposition did not attack the GHQ and Jinnah House at the government’s behest, referring to the violent protests of May 9.

Rehman concluded by stating that the opposition’s political situation would not improve until they sincerely and wholeheartedly apologise for the crimes committed on May 9.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2026