Islamabad, June 5: The Pakistan government is likely to present the budget with the outlay of around Rs 18 trillion for the financial year 2024-25 on June 12, a minister said on Wednesday.
The government will table the budget in the National Assembly after approval from the Cabinet, The Express Tribune newspaper reported, quoting the Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik.
The cabinet meeting will also make crucial decisions about any increase in the salaries and pensions for government employees.
Malik said the budget would be tabled on June 12 and added that its schedule was changed due to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ongoing visit to China.
Before tabling the budget in Parliament, approval will be sought from the Economic Coordination Committee on June 10 for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and annual development funds for the next fiscal while the National Economic Survey for the current financial year will be presented on June 11.
Proposals for slapping Rs 3 trillion in additional tax and increasing GST from 18 to 19 per cent are also under consideration, the report said, quoting the minister. He said that the government would also jack up defence spending to offset the inflation and price hike during the outgoing fiscal year ending on June 30.
Pakistan utilised less than 30 pc
of donor funds after 2022 floods
Pakistan, hit by devastating floods in 2022, utilised a mere 29.4 per cent of donor funding for flood projects out of the total pledged amount of USD 3.36 billion by international donors and local funds of USD 364 million till May, according to a media report on Wednesday. A meeting to review the progress of flood recovery held on Tuesday was told that the financial progress of 29.4 per cent was achieved by utilising USD 1.091 billion till May countrywide (by both federal and provincial governments), The News International newspaper reported. (PTI)
