The agenda for the upcoming National Assembly, Senate meetings will be issued in the coming days
The Parliament building has been illuminated with green light to mark the one year anniversary of Marka-e-Haq in the federal capital. PHOTO: ONLINE
President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday approved convening the budget meeting of the National Assembly at 17.00 and the senate meeting at 18.00 on 5 June.
The federal budget for the financial year 2026-27 will be presented in the National Assembly. The agenda for the upcoming National Assembly and Senate meetings will be issued in the coming days.
The next budget must be presented in consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where most matters have already been settled.
The federal government has also drawn up proposals in the upcoming budget for wage increases for the salaried class and pensions for retirees.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs, Senator Rana Sanaullah, said relief would be provided on a broad basis, including to the salaried class.
On Monday, Sanaullah said the government was preparing a comprehensive strategy to provide maximum relief to inflation-hit sections of society in the upcoming budget.
Speaking to the media, he said that no change to the voting age limit was under consideration and that the government remained fully committed to protecting the constitutional and democratic rights of the youth.
He said that the upcoming federal budget would bring great relief to the masses and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would formally announce the public friendly package soon.
The FY27 budget may offer limited relief
Pakistan’s upcoming federal budget for FY27 looks set to be less about headline-grabbing relief measures and more about strengthening a commitment to economic stabilization despite mounting political, social and economic pressures. After three years of adjustments under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, the government now faces the challenge of balancing fiscal discipline with demands for tax cuts, growth support and investor confidence.
Read: Aid package announced in the budget: Sanaullah
Previews from leading brokerages Topline Research and JS Global Capital indicate the budget is likely to be viewed less through the lens of populist measures or dramatic policy shifts and more as a reinforcement of fiscal discipline and policy continuity for investors and lenders. Both reports expect continued fiscal consolidation with a fourth straight primary surplus in FY27, but sustaining that will require strong revenue mobilization amid a fragile recovery.
According to IMF-related targets highlighted in the reports, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is expected to collect around Rs 15.3 trillion in taxes during FY27, implying a revenue growth of around 14-20% depending on the final FY26 collection base. The challenge becomes even greater because FY26 itself is expected to close with another revenue shortfall despite downward revisions in collection targets.
This creates the central tension in the budget. On the one hand, the government is considering relief for wage earners and selected business sectors due to domestic pressures. On the other hand, the IMF has tightened supervision by upgrading FBR benchmarks to quantitative performance criteria, leaving minimal room for slippage, exceptions or discretionary relaxation.
