The month of May was characterized by political chaos and instability, and the eyes of the entire nation, including the local and international media, were fixed on the ever-changing political situation. However, in the midst of all this, undoubtedly the biggest crisis facing Pakistan has escaped the attention of the media for some time, the effects of which are being felt by the common people every day.
Inflation rate in Pakistan has reached a record 38% in May and it is feared that it may increase in the coming months.
In such a situation, the question in the minds of the people is whether the upcoming budget will be able to give any relief to the people.
At that time, Pakistan could not get the loan installment from the IMF despite several months of negotiations and a deadlock still remains in this regard. Thus, the government is going to present the budget presented on June 9 without IMF funding.
It is an election year in Pakistan and the term of the National Assembly will end in the month of August, after which a caretaker government will take its place. Experts believe that usually in an election year, governments present a ‘relief budget’ which is people-friendly, but due to this, government expenditure also increases.
Last week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, while speaking in Jirga program of Geo News, was asked how he will make the budget without IMF and other external assistance, he said that he will try not to burden the people. . It will be a people-friendly budget.
However, the IMF told Reuters on Monday that it hoped to be able to hold a board meeting before the end of the current program. Ishaq Dar, in an earlier interview to Geo News, has spoken about the fact that the IMF has asked the government to share the budget data.
Ishaq Dar said that they have asked us for the budget details, we will provide them.
On Wednesday, Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Ayesha Ghos Pasha, speaking in the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, said that controlling inflation in the upcoming budget is the biggest challenge. The next budget cannot give tax free.
He expressed hope about the agreement with the IMF and said that Pakistan would like to complete the ninth and tenth programs with the IMF.
Keep in mind that the IMF’s ninth loan program is ending at the end of this month.
The most important question in this situation is whether the government will be able to fulfill the promise of giving a ‘people-friendly’ budget as opposed to the IMF’s demand to make a ‘realistic’ budget.
