ISLAMABAD: With the budget set to be unveiled on June 2, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday outlined his expectations for federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26, stressing the need for a budget that prioritises poverty alleviation, investment and development.
While chairing a high-stakes meeting on the preparation of the federal budget for 2025-2026, the prime minister directed his ministers and top officials to craft a “people-friendly” budget that provides relief to ordinary citizens, promotes industrial growth, boosts agriculture sector, and partners with the private sector to revitalise the economy.
“The government’s top priority is easing financial burdens on the poor and middle class,” Sharif declared, promising to tap “all available resources” to bring tangible relief.
He emphasised that sustainable, export-led growth should be the cornerstone of the upcoming budget, due to be unveiled on June 02.
Sharif was not mincing words: the budget must spark job creation, empower youth through modern vocational training, and supercharge sectors such as agriculture, IT, housing, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – areas, he called “high-potential engines of growth.”
Private-sector players – who have been in budget talks with government officials for the past three months – also got their moment at the table. A delegation of business leaders and experts had voiced support for the government’s economic vision, pitching proposals which the prime minister promised to seriously consider in the forthcoming budget.
The prime minister welcomed their input and directed his team to incorporate feasible recommendations.
“Public-private partnerships will be a key focus in the next budget,” Sharif said, touting ongoing reforms in the power sector that are already lowering industrial electricity rates.
The reduction of electricity tariffs for industrial consumers, he argued, should help to drive productivity and manufacturing.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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