The government has given go-ahead signal to all relevant ministries and divisions, as it is all set to present the budget for the fiscal year 2018-19 in the National Assembly on April 27. The Annual Planning Coordination Committee (APCC) will meet on Monday, where macroeconomic framework and federal Public Sector Development Program for the fiscal year 2018-19 would be approved. According to sources, National Economic Council (NEC) is likely to meet on April 20 for approval of the budget 2018-19.
However, the sources said that the government has called APCC meeting without first securing the cabinet approval for the budget strategy paper, which has denied the federal ministers the right to give their input. President Mamnoon Hussain has called the budget session of the National Assembly for April 27. Before presenting the budget, the government would reveal the Economic Survey for 2017-18 on April 26, 2018.
On the other hand, the opposition parties said that it is not the right of PML-N government to present the budget for next fiscal year. The opposition parties conveyed to the government that either it should not present the budget or get authorization of the only four-month budget from the Parliament. Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah has also told the Prime Minister in a meeting held on Wednesday last that that the PML-N government has no right to present a budget for the entire upcoming fiscal year.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has also stated that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would not present the budget for fiscal year 2018-19. He questioned the government's intention of introducing next year's federal budget when its tenure is about to end. The government's tenure is ending in 45 days but it is presenting the next year's budget, he added.
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