Federal budget likely to be presented on June 12 amid centre-province consultations

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Tuesday said the federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27 is likely to be presented in Parliament on June 12, as consultations continue between the federal government, coalition partners and provinces on key fiscal issues.

In a post on X, the minister said summaries had been sent to the presidency seeking approval to convene sessions of the National Assembly and Senate on June 10. He said the National Assembly session had been proposed for 5pm, while the Senate session was expected to begin at 4pm.

The announcement comes amid uncertainty surrounding the budget schedule as the federal government and provincial administrations continue discussions over the Centre’s demand for additional fiscal space exceeding Rs1 trillion to meet strategic and financial requirements.

The situation was further complicated after the meeting of the National Economic Council was postponed for the third time on Monday. The delay reportedly stemmed from ongoing negotiations over proposals related to provincial shares under the National Finance Commission Award.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Adviser Muzzammil Aslam said the federal government had informed provinces that their financial allocations under the NFC Award for the current fiscal year would remain unchanged next year, while any increase in collections beyond the current level would have to be transferred back to the Centre.

According to Aslam, provincial governments opposed the proposal, arguing that it would place their budgets under significant pressure and make it difficult to meet expenditure requirements. He said federal officials suggested that provinces could freeze salaries and limit development spending to manage the situation.

Aslam added that uncertainty remained over the scheduling of the NEC meeting because several unresolved issues were too significant to be settled immediately. He warned that the federal budget could face further delays as consensus between the Centre and provinces remained elusive.

Meanwhile, the government and its key coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party, reached broad agreement on the overall framework of the upcoming budget during a third round of consultations held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr on Monday.

The meeting was chaired by Asif Ali Zardari and attended by Shehbaz Sharif, senior cabinet members and top PPP leaders. Discussions were held in two phases, including delegation-level talks followed by consultations among the top leadership.

Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the government and PPP had reached a “complete understanding” regarding the Public Sector Development Programme and development budget allocations.

He added that further consultations would continue at both political and technical levels to address remaining budgetary issues and finalize proposals ahead of the budget presentation.