Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday presented Pakistan’s budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 with a total outlay of Rs18.877 trillion, VOS News reported.
The National Assembly (NA) session began with recitation of the Holy Quran followed by the national anthem. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also in attendance.
RecommendedMust Read
Meanwhile, the opposition lawmakers belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council stood on their desks, raised slogans against government and PML-N president Nawaz Sharif. They even tore the copies of the Finance Bill 2025.
Analysts expect the budget for the fiscal year to June 2025 to set ambitious fiscal targets as it looks to strengthen the case for a new bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In Pakistan’s economic survey on Tuesday, the government said GDP would expand 2.4% in the current year, missing the budgeted target of 3.5%, despite revenues being up 30% on year, and the fiscal and current account deficits being under control.
Pakistan is in talks with the IMF for a loan estimated to range from $6 billion to $8 billion, as it seeks to avert a default for an economy growing at the slowest pace in the region.
