Islamabad: The federal government may once again reschedule the date for presenting the annual budget due to the Eid holidays. According to sources, public holidays will fall on June 7 and 8 due to Eid-ul-Adha. As a result, June 9—Eid’s third day—might be declared a working day to accommodate key financial events.
Sources say the government plans to release both the National Economic Council (NEC) decisions and the Economic Survey on June 9. However, holding both events on the same day appears unfeasible. The NEC meeting alone typically lasts an entire day, and traditionally, the Economic Survey is released separately to ensure focused attention.
It is also expected that chief ministers of all four provinces, as well as representatives from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, will attend the NEC meeting. This session is crucial, as it finalizes the national development program for the upcoming fiscal year. Officials noted that this high-level gathering requires full-day deliberations, making it difficult to manage additional events on the same day.
Traditionally, there is a two-day gap between the NEC meeting and the federal budget presentation. Given this, the Ministry of Finance may extend the budget presentation date by two days. Currently, the budget is scheduled for June 10, but changes are likely to ensure proper sequencing.
Earlier, various dates such as June 2 and June 10 had been under consideration for the federal budget presentation. With the Eid holidays overlapping key economic events, the final date may now shift again to allow smoother coordination and planning.