Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is currently presenting his first federal budget in the National Assembly. Opposition lawmakers, who were absent in the previous few budgets, are loudly chanting slogans.
Shouts of “go, Nawaz, go,” can be heard thundering throughout the proceedings as Aurangzeb powers through his speech, seemingly unfazed.
This year’s budget, like last year’s, is widely considered to be crafted to align with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) requirements to secure another bailout, this time “larger and longer”.
The finance minister thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his elder brother and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif as well as various other leaders of the coalition government for their guidance in preparing the budget.
“Dear speaker, I think that despite political and economic challenges, our progress on the economic front in the past one year has been impressive,” Aurangzeb said.
He urged Pakistan to capitalise on a fresh opportunity to revitalise its economy.
“Pakistan has another opportunity to improve itself and embark on the path of economic development. I request everyone not to waste this chance,” Aurangzeb said.
The finance minister hailed the government’s efforts to address economic challenges and pledged to accelerate development under the leadership of PM Shehbaz.
“Before presenting the budget, I want to highlight our journey thus far,” the minister said. “Under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s leadership, we have pursued a homegrown agenda that has enabled us to overcome current economic challenges and boost the pace of development.”
Aurangzeb acknowledged the challenges faced by Pakistan’s economy, which had been struggling with depleted foreign reserves, a 40 per cent depreciation of the rupee, stagnant economic growth, and soaring inflation that pushed citizens below the poverty line.
He commended the government for securing a crucial nine-month IMF programme in June 2023, which helped Pakistan avoid economic collapse.
