PTI rejects Budget 2026-27 as 'Budget of broken promises', cites 'eleven deadly sins'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentary leader in the Senate, Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, on Tuesday strongly rejected the federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27, describing it as a “budget of broken promises” that fails to provide public relief or offer a credible roadmap for economic growth and employment generation.

Taking part in the Senate debate on the budget, Zafar said every budget should pursue two fundamental objectives: ensuring that economic benefits reach ordinary citizens and presenting a sustainable strategy for long-term growth and job creation.

“Unfortunately, this budget achieves neither objective. It neither provides meaningful relief to the common citizen nor sets out a credible long-term plan for economic development and employment generation,” he said.

The PTI senator accused the government of ignoring what he termed 11 critical areas essential for national progress. These included a long-term growth strategy, industrialisation policy, agricultural development, export promotion, youth employment, expansion of the information technology sector, energy reforms, resolution of circular debt, water conservation, climate change mitigation, population management and education.

He expressed particular concern over the education sector, arguing that the government had neglected one of the most important pillars of national development.

“Education is the foundation of progress and prosperity, yet the government appears to have neglected it entirely. It is as though the government does not wish to spread the light of knowledge among the people but is instead content to leave them in the darkness of ignorance,” he remarked.

Criticising the government’s economic approach, Zafar said successive administrations had relied excessively on International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes and additional taxation rather than addressing structural economic weaknesses.

“The persistent failure to identify and address the root causes reflects not merely poor policy choices but a broader failure of governance and economic management,” he said, attributing the situation to incompetence rather than ill intent.

Referring to the government’s performance over the past five years, Zafar said each budget had been accompanied by new explanations for economic shortcomings rather than tangible results.

He argued that the government’s inability to address key challenges stemmed from both administrative incompetence and a lack of political stability.

“A government that does not enjoy public support cannot present a compelling vision for the future,” he said.

The senator further claimed that seven major indicators were moving in the wrong direction, including exports, living standards, economic growth, investment, the value of the rupee, business confidence and government credibility.

Mocking the government's four per cent growth target, he remarked that “a tortoise with arthritis could move faster,” adding that the administration appeared to view stagnation as an achievement.

Zafar also criticised the continued taxation of the salaried class, arguing that the burden was falling disproportionately on documented taxpayers while several sectors remained outside the tax net.

“The government appears determined to squeeze the last drop of blood from the bones of the salaried class,” he said.

Rejecting the government's description of the budget as a stabilisation budget, he argued that it merely stabilised poverty, hardship and public frustration.

He also questioned the strategy for achieving a primary budget surplus, claiming that ordinary citizens were being forced to sacrifice essential expenditures on education, healthcare and daily necessities to meet fiscal targets.

Using a metaphor to describe the government’s economic management, Zafar compared it to repeatedly placing buckets beneath a leaking roof instead of repairing the source of the problem.

“The roof is still leaking. The problem has not been solved. Yet instead of repairing the roof, the government is now asking the provinces to give up the very bricks needed to keep it standing,” he said.

Concluding his remarks, the PTI senator said he was rejecting the budget because of what he described as its harsh and burdensome impact on the public.

Other opposition members also voiced concerns during the debate.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) parliamentary leader in the Senate, Maulana Attaur Rehman, criticised the budget and linked economic recovery to improvements in the security situation, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

He said law and order conditions in KP had deteriorated and argued that sustainable economic stability could not be achieved without restoring peace in conflict-affected regions.

Rehman also criticised the taxation of tobacco, a major cash crop in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and alleged electoral irregularities during recent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.

PTI Senator Mushal Azam likewise rejected the budget, saying it failed to provide relief to ordinary citizens.

“The people need two meals a day, not lollipops,” she remarked, warning that growing economic hardship could fuel public dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, PPP Senator Zameer Hussain Ghumro called for additional welfare measures and incentives to improve the living standards and well-being of the people.

The Senate debate on the federal budget is expected to continue in the coming days as lawmakers from both treasury and opposition benches present their views on the government’s fiscal proposals for the next financial year.