Dead end budget
DOES anyone even take the finance ministry seriously anymore? With each passing year, this question becomes less and less rhetorical, as our notionally sovereign economy turns into a plaything of…
Budget and parliament
IN Pakistan, this time of the year is a regular reminder of how farcical the role of parliament has become when it comes to ensuring that the annual budget reflects…
Budget repair
THE federal budget for fiscal year (FY) ‘24 will be presented against a complex domestic environment and a challenging global economy. There has never been a more critical time to…
Budget and parliament
ALTHOUGH an intense public debate had been going on about the contents and quality of the recently passed federal budget, there has not been much discussion on the deeply flawed…
Medium-term budget strategy
The Federal Ministry of Finance has released the Medium-Term Budget Strategy Statement for the period, 2024-25 to 2026-27. The Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act of 2005 states that the…
Budgetary outcome in 2023-24
The statistics on the outcome of fiscal operations by the federal and provincial governments in 2023-24 were released recently by the federal ministry of finance. The overall outcome indicates a…
An IMF-guided budget
Amid its preparation for its 24th IMF programme, the Pakistan government presented an IMF-guided budget for FY2024-25 in June. The crux of the budget is to keep the primary balance…
Data for development
Stable economies around the globe are well documented. In Pakistan, there is a culture of reluctance to documentation and, subsequently, evaluation. Evidence-based policymaking is virtually nonexistent here. For stable economic…
This is a budget for the rich
The major issue with the federal government’s recently announced budget is its failure to convince anyone outside the government’s core supporters that it can achieve its intended results. Another significant…
Provincial budgets for FY2024-25
The provincial budgets for 2024-25 have all been presented last month in the respective Provincial Assemblies. However, they have not received much attention in the media because of the exclusive…
