Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Raza Rabbani on Thursday said that if the federal budget undermined provincial incomes, rights or autonomy, political parties should refrain from supporting it.
“If the government insists on playing with provincial incomes, rights and autonomy, political parties should desist from supporting the budget,” Rabbani said in a statement. The former chairman of the Senate said that any legislation affecting provincial or fiscal autonomy should not be pursued at the behest of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He also rejected IMF-driven fiscal targets, saying that “the fixation of targets for provinces is not acceptable.”
He further said that imposing primary surplus and revenue targets would effectively reduce Parliament to approving a predetermined fiscal plan. Highlighting social protection concerns, he described the BISP as a “red line,” warning that any changes to it would have serious consequences. He also proposed an alternative fiscal arrangement, saying, “Or in the alternative, let all tax collection be done by the provinces and the federal government be given its share.”
A day earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced that the Budget for the fiscal year 2026-2027 would be announced on Wednesday, June 10. The government had earlier planned to present the federal budget on June 5, but delayed the announcement after failing to resolve issues related to expenditure allocations and address concerns raised by coalition partners.