PTI Rejects Pakistan's FY2026-27 Federal Budget, Citing 'Elite Self-Preservation'
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the primary opposition party in the National Assembly, has rejected the federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27, characterizing it as an "exercise in elite self-preservation." The federal government had unveiled an Rs18.8 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. PTI Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram stated that the budget offered little substantive benefit to common citizens or small businesses, highlighting concerns over economic decline, increased poverty, and a taxing approach that disproportionately affects compliant taxpayers and the salaried class.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the main opposition party, formally rejected the federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27, calling it a "refined exercise in elite self-preservation." This rejection followed the federal government's unveiling of an Rs18.8 trillion budget in the National Assembly.
PTI Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram stated that the Pakistan Economic Survey, released earlier, indicated a continued decline across various sectors compared to the PTI's previous tenure. Akram criticized the government's projected growth rate of 3.7 percent, noting that the previous administration achieved nearly 6 percent growth in its final year despite a global pandemic, while also strengthening the current account and remittances.
Akram highlighted a "sharp and conspicuous reversal" in poverty, leading to millions more citizens falling below the basic subsistence line. He argued that the budget's relief measures, such as reductions for higher-income brackets and super tax adjustments, primarily benefit those already well-positioned economically, while the salaried class faces diminished real incomes and increased difficulty meeting household obligations.
Regarding taxation, Akram stated that the government has imposed numerous taxes and withdrawn exemptions over recent budgets, offering little for common citizens or small businesses. Small businesses now contend with a new fixed tax regime, expanded withholding tax, and intensified production monitoring. He further claimed that the government's approach relies on aggressive enforcement and faceless audits, with significantly increased penalties for non-compliance, aiming to extract more revenue from compliant taxpayers rather than broadening the tax base.
Concerns were also raised about the budget's financial allocations. Debt servicing is projected to account for Rs8,054 billion out of a total expenditure of Rs18,771 billion, potentially crowding out resources for development and welfare. Akram criticized the emphasis on privatization, including the disposal of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and planned transfers of power distribution companies (DISCOs), suggesting it risks resembling an accelerated disposal of national assets for the benefit of connected interests rather than the public.
During the budget session in the National Assembly, PTI lawmakers staged a protest, chanting slogans and displaying placards, before walking out of the proceedings.
According to Dawn Pakistan, PTI maintained that the budget continued a pattern of "statistical flexibility and selective historical recollection."
