LAHORE:
The HRCP has criticized the federal budget 2025-26, calling it regressive and separated from the lived realities of the working class of Pakistan and the marginalized communities.
In a press conference held at Lahore on Tuesday, the commission expressed concern that the new fiscal plan, largely formed by the IMF conditions and austerity measures, does not address the severe socio -economic challenges faced by low -income households in the middle of a crisis of persistent cost of living.
Although the budget includes a modest reduction in income tax rates for salaried persons, HRCP officials said that the measure recently does to restore the eroded purchasing power of workers whose income has been decimated by prolonged inflation from 2022 to 2024.
Of particular concern is the government’s decision to maintain the federal minimum wage at RS37,000 per month; A figure that the commission says it is insufficient to support a family of six.
Even in provinces such as Punjab and KP, where the minimum wage has increased to RS40,000, the increase is far from adequate when it is adjusted by inflation, HRCP said.
