Balochistan unveils Rs1.089 trillion surplus budget with focus on relief

QUETTA: The Balochistan government on Wednesday presented a Rs1,089.26 billion surplus budget for fiscal year 2026-27, combining revenue projections, public relief measures and development spending increases across health, education and agriculture.

Provincial Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani laid out the budget in the Balochistan Assembly, saying the province expects total revenues of Rs1,134.92 billion and a net fiscal surplus of Rs45.56 billion. The budget includes a seven per cent increase in salaries and pensions for government employees, in line with the federal government’s policy.

The provincial administration also announced 5,000 new public sector jobs, with positions to be created particularly in schools and healthcare facilities. According to the budget details presented in the assembly, the government is seeking to pair financial discipline with measures intended to ease pressure on citizens facing inflation.

Development, health and education allocations

During his speech, Nosherwani said the budget was meant to serve as a plan for progress amid wider global economic uncertainty. He credited the government led by Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti with pursuing what he described as visible progress.

A key feature highlighted in the budget speech was the reported 115 per cent utilisation of development funds in the previous year, a level the government said marked a departure from a long-standing pattern in which a large portion of the development allocation remained unspent.

The non-development budget for health was raised by 30 per cent to Rs90 billion. Under that head, the government allocated Rs6 billion for the expansion of the Balochistan Health Card and Rs8.5 billion for the provision of free medicines. The budget also includes funding for Quetta’s New Trauma Center and thalassemia centres in Gwadar and Kech.

Education spending was increased by 15 per cent to Rs144 billion. The government said the allocation would support the upgradation of primary schools and the installation of fibre-optic infrastructure aimed at extending high-speed digital learning to remote areas.

Digital systems and agriculture support

The budget also outlines steps to digitise government operations. Manual tax collection has been replaced by the Balochistan E-Pay app, under which provincial revenues are to be deposited directly into the state treasury.

The provincial government further said it plans to use artificial intelligence for faster, merit-based recruitment, a measure presented as part of efforts to improve confidence among young people seeking public employment.

For the agriculture sector, the government announced the launch of the Kisan Card programme with an initial allocation of Rs1 billion. Another Rs3.8 billion has been earmarked to convert agricultural tube wells to solar energy for rural communities.

The budget presentation also noted that Balochistan continues to depend heavily on its share of federal transfers under the National Finance Commission award. Provincial authorities said the new financial plan is intended to reduce administrative delays and move governance toward greater transparency and self-reliance.