The finance minister will officially present the federal budget for 2026-27 in the National Assembly on Friday, June 12. The announcement follows brief delays caused by political negotiations.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will present the federal budget 2026-27 in the National Assembly on Friday, June 12. The announcement was delayed due to tough political negotiations. The minister will launch the Pakistan Economic Survey for FY2025-26 on Thursday at 2:20 PM.
The final budget schedule was confirmed by Khurram Schehzad, Adviser to the Finance Minister. President Asif Ali Zardari has already summoned both the National Assembly and Senate sessions.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of National Economic Council (NEC) on Wednesday. It had been delayed thrice because the federal government was demanding over Rs1 trillion from the provinces for strategic needs.
The Financial Plan and Resource Split
To deal with an Rs800 billion revenue shortfall this year and prepare for the next, PML-N and PPP reached an agreement. Under this deal:
- The provinces will receive the same baseline share from the federal fund as they did this year.
- Any additional tax collected by the FBR next year will go to the federal government. It could range between Rs1.3 trillion and Rs1.7 trillion.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are not part of this deal yet.
Record Development Funds with Strict IMF Supervision
Under tight International Monetary Fund oversight, the government has announced a massive national development program worth Rs4.715 trillion. This includes:
- Provincial Annual Development Plans (ADPs): Rs3.138 trillion (up by 9.6%).
- Federal Public Sector Development Program (PSDP): Rs1.126 trillion (up by 12.6%).
- State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs): Rs451 billion (up by 27%).
To make room for these projects, the government had to trim budgets for several regular sectors. Instead, money is being steered toward the following:
- PML-N’s signature national highways
- A Rs87 billion share for coalition partners
- Rs70 billion for development schemes led by ruling party lawmakers
Tax Reforms and Relief Measures
The Prime Minister also emphasized that the government is focusing heavily on bringing unregistered businesses into the tax net. They recently introduced the ‘Fixed Tax Asaan Scheme’ for small shopkeepers and traders earning up to Rs 200 million annually.
Additionally, the government plans to relax the remittance cap to help overseas Pakistanis safely protect their investments and assets abroad.
