Daily Times

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sunday met senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership to discuss the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 which the federal government is set to present next month.

The meeting, attended by PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf, Cheif Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Sherry Rehman and Naveed Qamar along with Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Adviser to PM on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Information Minister Ataullah Tarar also mulled over the prevailing political situation in the country.

A report published in a section of the media stated that the federal government intends to present the budget for the next fiscal year on June 7 – however, the government is yet to announce the official date when the budget will be unveiled.

The high-level huddle comes as the PM Shehbaz-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government will need the PPP’s support to pass the budget as it lacks the required numbers in the National Assembly to do so on its own.

The two parties, following the February 8 polls, agreed to join hands with the PPP supporting the PML-N in the election of Shehbaz as the country’s premier in exchange for various constitutional posts such as Senate Chairman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab governors etc.

The passing of the FY2024-25 budget holds significance as the country, in April, made a formal request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for seeking the next bailout package in the range of $6 to $8 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

An IMF team, led by Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan, visited Islamabad during May 13-23, 2024, to discuss the country’s plans for a home-grown economic programme that can be supported under the EFF.

The visiting IMF team had secured relevant data of all major economic fronts and informed the relevant authorities what kind of budget the Fund staff would like to see in 2024-25.

Although the Washington-based lender has acknowledged making significant progress with Islamabad toward reaching a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) on a comprehensive economic policy and reform programme, it has conditioned the next bailout package with the approval of the aligned budget, The News reported.

“In the budget 2024-25, the government will have to demonstrate its ability to raise the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) revenue, […] the government will have to hike electricity and gas tariffs in coming July and August 2024 to strike a deal with the IMF,” top official sources confirmed to the publication.

Therefore, the upcoming budget for 2024-25 will become a test case for the incumbent regime to demonstrate its ability to deliver on the IMF’s stringent conditions.