ISLAMABAD, June 9: The Pakistan Peoples Party has said it was not consulted by the ruling PML-N-led government on the upcoming federal budget despite being a coalition partner, according to a media report on Sunday.
The Pakistan government will likely present the budget for the financial year 2024-25 on June 12.
The government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, “neither told us anything related to the budget nor took us into confidence,” Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah said.
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“We don’t know what the PML-N is doing about privatisation policy, taxes, developmental programme,” the report quoted Shah as saying.
After the controversial February 8 general elections marred with massive rigging allegations, the PML-N and PPP formed a coalition government after intense negotiations following a fractured poll verdict.
Asserting that the Bilawal Bhutto-led PPP does not know anything about relief, Shah said that he’s unaware whether the government is making the budget or if the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) budget is being imposed.
Underscoring the need for the inclusion of the PPP’s proposals in the budget, he said, “People will ask us what have we done. Will we tell them that we don’t even know about it?”
Shah further said that the party will have to scrutinise politically the decisions to be made about the budget.
On Wednesday, Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik said the budget would be tabled on June 12 and added that its schedule was changed due to Prime Minister Sharif’s ongoing visit to China. (PTI)
