ISLAMABAD:
Opposition politicians have sharply criticized the federal budget, arguing that it fails to provide relief to ordinary citizens and reflects the government’s inability to address Pakistan’s growing economic challenges.
Both leaders of an alliance of opposition parties, the TTAP, and the JI on Sunday criticized the budget that the PML-N-led federal government announced on Friday.
At a seminar at the National Press Club, Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said Pakistan’s expenditure had long exceeded its revenue and no serious effort had ever been made to reverse the trend.
He compared the country’s economic situation to that of a household that spends more than it earns, warning that such a household eventually becomes trapped under mounting debt and is forced to sell its assets. He said poverty was rising rapidly, prices of essential commodities had become unaffordable and the government’s claims about poverty levels did not reflect the reality on the ground.
“The poor cannot afford medical treatment, while the government cannot provide basic services,” he said. He added that in many parts of the country schools had not changed for decades and educational levels remained alarmingly low. According to him, youth unemployment is officially around 30 percent, but in reality it is close to 60 percent.
Awaam Pakistan party leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the budget had lost much of its meaning and the last four years had been among the worst for Pakistan’s economy.
He said the government had failed to provide meaningful relief and had simply withdrawn some old taxes while imposing new indirect taxes that would ultimately affect all citizens.
Abbasi argued that the country’s economic difficulties did not stem from the IMF but from domestic policy failures. “The real problem is not the IMF; it is our own policies,” he said, adding that the government continued to spend beyond its means.
He warned that rising debt and interest payments were placing a huge burden on the economy and could also affect national security.
PTI leader Salman Akram Raja also expressed concern over the country’s increasing dependence on debt. He warned that reliance on loans would further exacerbate economic distortions and said meaningful reforms were essential to achieving long-term stability.
Raja noted that Pakistan’s public debt had increased by approximately Rs 40 trillion over the past four years, representing a close to 100 percent increase in total debt.
In his press conference, JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman described the budget as an IMF-driven document that did not offer any meaningful relief to the people. He demanded the immediate abolition of the oil tax and asked that electricity rates for industries be set at 9 cents per unit.
He warned that if the government did not provide aid, JI would launch a nationwide protest movement, including road blockades.
