Shehbaz govt to present FY25 budget on June 10

Islamabad: Pakistan will present the financial year 2024-25 annual budget on June 10, two government sources said on Friday, ahead of seeking a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.

The budget was originally due to be presented on June 7 but was delayed because of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing from June 4 to June 8, said the two sources, a top official at the finance ministry and an official close to the prime minister.

They spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to disclose the information.

The information ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Finance Minister Muhammad Auragzeb, who will be accompanying Sharif to Beijing, will present the budget, which the finance ministry official said would be one of the most crucial ahead of a new loan from the IMF.

An IMF mission held two weeks of technical and policy-level talks with Pakistani officials before it left last week to discuss fiscal consolidation measures to lay the groundwork for the new loan.

The talks made significant progress towards reaching a staff-level agreement for an extended fund facility, the IMF said after concluding the talks.

The IMF had opened discussions on the new loan programme after Islamabad completed a short-term $3 billion programme, which had helped stave off a sovereign debt default last summer.

Federal Budget on June 7

Pakistan is likely to seek at least $6 billion under the new programme and request additional financing from the IMF under the Resilience and Sustainability Trust.

Earlier it was reported that the federal government will present the budget for the coming fiscal year in the National Assembly on June 7 (Friday).

“The upcoming budget session will start on June 6 (Thursday) and the federal government will present Budget-2024-25 in the National Assembly on June 7 (Friday),” the report stated.

After the budget 2024-25, the Speaker National Assembly was to adjourn the House for two days.

SOURCE: REUTERS