Senator Aimal Wali Khan of Awami National Party (ANP) while calling for greater public relief and democratic reforms on Monday said the budget mirrored the prevailing political and economic realities of the country, where policy decisions were increasingly shaped by external financial constraints.
Referring to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he maintained that successive governments had little room to pursue independent economic policies, while repeated taxation measures continued to grow.
On provincial rights, he stressed the need for a more equitable distribution of resources and authority.
While acknowledging Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting regional peace and stability, he emphasized that the government must complement such initiatives with concrete measures to improve the lives of citizens.
He called for lower fuel prices, improved public services, stronger democratic institutions and greater investment in education, healthcare, employment generation and social welfare programmes.