Lahore:
HRCP has criticized the federal budget 2025-26 and called it regressively and detached from the lived realities in Pakistan’s working class and marginalized society.
In a press briefing held in Lahore on Tuesday, the Commission expressed concern that the new tax-shaped strongly of IMF conditions and careful measures to tackle the serious socio-economic challenges, such as households with low income in the midst of a lingering cost-life crisis.
While the budget includes a modest reduction in income tax rates for employees, HRCP officials said the move does not do little to restore the eroded purchasing power for workers whose income has been decimated by long -term inflation from 2022 to 2024.
Of particular concern is the government’s decision to maintain the federal minimum wage to RS37,000 per year. Month – a number the Commission says is insufficient to support a family of six.
Even in provinces such as Punjab and KP, where the minimum wage is increased to RS40,000, the hike is far from sufficient when adjusted for inflation, HRCP said.
