Lawmakers approved 125 demands for grants for FY2026-27 and threw out every opposition cut motion, with debate on the balance and the Finance Bill set to continue, as Pakistan moves to lock down its Rs18.8tr budget before July 1.
Pakistan’s National Assembly on June 21 began the formal money-bill stage of the FY2026-27 federal budget, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb moving demands for grants for ministries and divisions that the house then approved by majority vote, according to The Express Tribune. The chamber approved 125 demands for grants worth Rs9.171 trillion, the Tribune reported, as the government pushed to authorise spending ahead of the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.
The opposition’s attempt to force cuts collapsed. Members moved scores of cut motions that were rejected by the house, Aaj English reported, including 90 against the Cabinet Division’s demands alone. The Tribune said the opposition tabled 307 cut motions in all, every one of which was voted down.
The defence allocation passed without a contest. The opposition did not move any cut motions against defence, so the allocation was approved unanimously, ARY News reported. The Express Tribune put the figure at about Rs3.067 trillion for defence, broadly in line with the roughly Rs3 trillion earmarked for defence when the Rs18.8tr budget was unveiled on June 12, per Dawn.
Several individual heads were itemised as the house worked through the schedule. Aaj English reported the assembly cleared 18 grant demands totalling Rs96.86 billion, with the bulk going to Cabinet Division development spending. MM News reported allocations including Rs578.837 billion for the Power Division and Rs1.162 trillion for pensions and superannuation allowances.
Treasury ministers used the floor to defend the spending plans against opposition objections, with minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry telling the house allocations had been reviewed in line with rising costs and administrative requirements.
The grant votes are the penultimate procedural step before passage of the Finance Bill, which carries the budget’s tax measures. The Express Tribune reported that debate on remaining demands worth about Rs1.243 trillion was to continue. The bill sets out the revenue side of a budget that, as unveiled, targets 4pc GDP growth, an 8.2pc average inflation rate and a fiscal deficit held to 3.6pc of GDP, Dawn reported.
