Pakistan

Finance minister announces 10pc increase in salaries of govt employees, 7pc increase in pension Proposes relief in all tax slabs on annual income of salaried class.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Information Adviser, Barrister Dr.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan announced on Tuesday a 20 percent increase in its defence budget for 2025-26 a month after a four-day intensive war with India.

Islamabad - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed the firm commitment to take the country forward on the path of economic growth.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said Pakistan and Russia have enormous potential needed to be exploited to expand bilateral partnership in trade, investment, technology, and people-to-people exchanges.

In an attempt to provide eco-friendly transport facilities, the Sindh government has decided to purchase more buses and allocate funds for electric vehicle (EV) taxis and scooters in the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26. Sindh government has reaffirmed its commitment towards addressing Karachi’s urban mobility and transport issues. With a population of 20 million, the metropolis faces rampant infrastructure issues ranging from transport, water and sanitation. The decision was made in a meeting chaired by Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon and attended by Secretary Transport Asad Zamin, Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) Managing Director Kamal Dayo and TransKarachi CEO Fuad Ghaffar Soomro among other officials. During the meeting, a comprehensive review of various projects under the provincial transport and mass transit department, including People’s Bus Service, EV scooters, and other issues were discussed. The meeting also discussed establishing charging stations for EV vehicles at var...

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday held a high-level meeting with US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie A.

• Next year’s revenue target set at Rs14.13tr • Provinces’ contribution helps Centre outperform fiscal target, record lowest budget deficit in a decade • Subsidy allocations have been reduced by 14pc • Reduced debt servicing drives expenditure containment of nearly Rs2.26tr • Generous tax relief, incentives for construction sector • Fuel levy, electricity surcharges to rise next year • Tough crackdown planned on non-filers, tax evaders • Development spending squeezed to cut deficit ISLAMABAD: Maintaining an aggressive stance on fiscal consolidation, as required by the Int­ernational Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday still managed to offer some notional relief to the salaried class in the federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26, along with incentives for the real estate and construction sectors, in an effort to revive the struggling industrial sector and stimulate economic growth. At the same time, however, the government announced it was imposing a ‘carbon levy’ of Rs2.5 per l...

LONDON/ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s high level delegation in London has urged the United Kingdom to support the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir.

ISLAMABAD - The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies on Tuesday rejected the Finance Bill for the next fiscal year, calling it an IMF-dictated document.

ISLAMABAD - Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday laid a copy of the Finance Bill for the next fiscal year before the Senate amidst a protest by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led opposition benches.

MULTAN - Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi on Tuesday said the number of passengers would be increased through substantial steps being taken to meet expectations of the public.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Teh­reek-i-Insaf (PTI) has rejected the budgetary proposals, alleging that the proposed budget for the upcoming financial year has been prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The party arrived at this conclusion after discussing the budgetary proposals for financial year 2025-26 at a meeting of the parliamentary party, which was attended by PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, leader of the opposition in National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan and leader of opposition in Senate Shibli Faraz among others. Calling the PML-N government “illegitimate”, the participants were of the opinion it had no authority to present the budget. They said the PTI would never accept the budget prop­o­sals as the IMF had allegedly prep­a­red them. They alleged that relaxati­ons were proposed for the elite, while the less privileged were crushed. The PTI leaders also criticised the ‘biased role’ of the NA speaker. The party decided that if the national broadcaster/PTV failed to air speeches by lawmak...

US Department of State on Wednesday reiterated US President Donald Trump’s resolve to work on the Kashmir dispute, saying each step that he takes “is made to solve generational differences between countries”. Donald Trump had offered to work on the Kashmir issue after he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after the two nations’ most intense military confrontation in decades. In a message lauding the countries’ leaders for achieving peace, he remarked, “I will work with both of you to see if, after a ‘thousand years’, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir.” Responding to a question on the steps US plans to take in the wake of Trump’s offer, State Department’s spokesperson Tammy Bruce during a White House press briefing noted, “So, while I can’t speak to his plans, the world knows his nature, and I can’t speak to any details of what he might have in that regard,” adding that the White House would have plenty to say about the matter. She further said, “[Trump] has been the only one to brin...

Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Barrister Gohar, has strongly criticized the federal government following the announcement of the 2025–26 budget, calling it a failure on both economic and reform fronts.

• Up to 80pc tax relief for salaried individuals earning Rs600,000-1.2m annually • Minimal relief for top salary brackets earning above Rs4.1m • 1pc surcharge reduction for income above Rs10m to curb brain drain • Super tax cut by 0.5pc for companies earning Rs200m-500m • Pensions above Rs10m to be taxed at 5pc • Cash withdrawal tax for non-filers increased to 1pc from 0.6pc ISLAMABAD: The government has announced sweeping tax reforms in the federal budget 2025-26, offering tax cuts of up to 80 per cent for low-income salaried individuals while limiting relief for higher earners to just 3pc. A new 5 per cent tax has also been proposed on high-value pensions exceeding Rs10 million annually. The focus of the budget seems to balance sectoral rel­ief, expand tax scope, achieve equitable burden-sharing, and introducing strong enf­orcement measures. The government expects the digital taxation framework, carbon levies and tax enforcement on e-commerce and digital transactions to help Pakistan adapt to global financi...

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday unveiled Pakistan’s annual federal budget in a charged National Assembly session, outlining ambitious proposals to drive 4.2 per cent economic growth in the coming fiscal year while cutting back on overall spending and tightening tax measures. As the session — chaired by NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq — commenced, opposition lawmakers erupted into anti-government slogans. Starting his speech, the finance minister said the budget 2025-26 was being presented at a “historic moment” marked by national unity and resolve, referencing the recent Pakistan-India conflict. “The spirit with which we protected our national sovereignty, we need to ensure our financial security the same way,” he maintained, continuing his speech through the noisy session. “Pakistan has now achieved economic stability and is moving towards a Pakistan that is prosperous.” View this post on Instagram Budget outlay The federal budget for fiscal year 2026 has a total outlay — the sum of expenditures ...

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