All attention is focused on the federal government as it prepares to unveil the FY2026‑27 budget, which will be presented before the National Assembly today.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is slated to present the budget.
Analysts expect a more growth‑focused budget, and the KSE‑100 index showed gains during early trading. With the economy stabilising, officials anticipate accelerated GDP expansion in the forthcoming fiscal year.
The government had previously indicated that the announcement would occur on June 10, after adjusting the schedule from its initial proposal.
The forthcoming budget is slated to detail the government’s fiscal priorities, revenue strategies, and expenditure plans for FY27, continuing efforts to stabilise the economy and maintain growth.
On Thursday, the government released the Pakistan Economic Survey (PES) for FY2025‑26, which reports that GDP growth reached 3.7% in the preceding fiscal year.
This figure exceeds the previous year’s 3.18% growth but falls short of the 4.2% target set in last year’s budget.
The improvement resulted from effective macroeconomic management, stronger fiscal accounts, growth in the large‑scale manufacturing sector, agricultural resilience despite 2025 floods, exchange‑rate stability, and reforms under the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Programme, as noted in the survey.
NEC targets
The National Economic Council (NEC) approved a Rs3.669 trillion national development outlay for FY2026‑27, comprising Rs838 billion in foreign assistance, and set a GDP growth target of 4%.
The meeting also allocated Rs1 trillion to the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), Rs2.218 trillion for provincial development initiatives, and Rs451 billion for state‑owned enterprises (SOEs).
The NEC unanimously endorsed a four‑point agenda and revised economic indicators for FY2025‑26, allocating Rs820 billion to the federal PSDP, Rs2.938 trillion to provincial development programmes, and Rs355 billion to SOEs.
