- Other provinces also reportedly reconsidering decisions to announce budgets
LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided not to present the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2018-19 keeping in view its weak legal standing in this regard, informed sources told Pakistan Today on Thursday.
“Legal experts have advised the Punjab government not to present the budget as it does not have locus standi to do so. It’s always the prerogative of the new government to make its own budget. Although the provincial government has finalised the budget, it has decided not to proceed with it,” a senior official of the Punjab Finance Department told Pakistan Today on the condition of anonymity.
Moreover, experts believe that presenting the budget so close to the expiry of government’s tenure is unconstitutional.
“It is likely that the other three provinces will also decide against presenting their respective budgets,” the source added, citing constitutional bars in this regard.
It is pertinent to mention here that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had on Monday announced that his government will introduce the budget for the whole year, but the authentication for utilisation of development funds would be made only for four months.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has also announced that it would be presenting the budget in May, taking a U-turn on it’s earlier decision to not present an “unconstitutional budget”.
On the other hand, former federal finance minister Ishaq Dar has said that if he had been the minister, he would have presented the budget for only two months.
