PESHAWAR: The adviser to chief minister on information and public relations, Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, here on Wednesday rejected the proposed federal budget 2025-26, stating that it deceived the salaried class under the guise of providing relief to it.

He said that increase in salary was too little compared to the rate of inflation. “This budget is a nightmare for the poor segments of society,” he said, according to a statement issued here.

He expressed serious concern over hike in taxes on petrol and electricity, warning that such measures would trigger a new wave of inflation.

“When petrol prices rises, the cost of all essential commodities follows,” he said. He also criticised imposition of taxes on alternative energy sources such as solar panels, stating that those too had become unaffordable for common people.

Mr Saif said that the budget did not represent the interests of common people, but instead reflected the priorities of Sharif family’s business empire. “It would have been more appropriate to present this budget in Jati Umra or Mayfair apartments in London,” he remarked.

He said that inflation-hit people were given no relief in the federal budget. On the contrary, new taxes have been introduced which will lead to further price hikes. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would present its own budget tomorrow (Friday). “It will be a tax-free and truly people-friendly and pro-poor budget,” he added.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2025