ISLAMABAD:
The opposition PTI on Friday rejected the federal budget for the next fiscal year, calling it a pro-rich and anti-poor financial plan that puts the burden on common citizens while extending relief to privileged segments of the society.
PTI president Barrister Gohar said the PML-N-led government’s fiscal plan did not offer any significant relief to the public. He termed the budget disappointing and said the party had no expectations from the government.
He added that there had been no notable improvement in governance over the past four years, claiming that instead of reducing spending, the government had relied on repeated borrowing. Gohar said government mismanagement and waste had increased, and stressed that a budget should provide real relief to citizens and reduce economic hardship.
On political engagement, he said efforts were being made to meet party leaders and contacts were being made wherever there was any chance of progress, but no positive response had been received so far. He added that the public was under severe economic pressure as the government continued to invite the opposition to participate. “PTI would not attend meetings to take photographs.” He sought serious political progress.
On the other hand, PTI Central Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram said the budget was effectively a typical PML-N document, claiming that it reflected an “elite-friendly” approach in which the poor received only “crumbs” while the rich received relief.
He alleged that the 2026-27 budget was based on manipulation of figures and focused on harassment of honest taxpayers instead of genuine reforms. He also criticized the introduction of anonymous audits, saying they were being used to attack legitimate companies.
Akram said the government had imposed taxes on multiple areas in recent budgets while continuing to manipulate the figures, adding that the latest financial plan followed the same pattern. He claimed that the budget punished honest taxpayers while ignoring large-scale tax evasion, describing it as misleading and anti-public.
