No IMF pressure on budget, defence spending to rise: Ahsan Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that there was no pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the upcoming budget and the defence budget will be increased and relief will also be provided to the public.

Talking to a delegation led Institution of Engineers Pakistan Secretary General Ameer Zamir, Iqbal claimed that the IMF was satisfied with the government’s measures and that there was no pressure from the Fund regarding the budget.

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He said that the government will provide relief to the people and will not take any steps that could harm national unity and cohesion.

The planning minister said that in light of the country’s security situation, the defence budget will be increased.

He said that all water-related projects, including the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, would be completed at the earliest to prevent India from exploiting the delay. Funds will be allocated to these projects on a priority basis, he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance spokesperson has said that the federal budget will be presented on June 10 instead of June 2.

Negotiations between Pakistan and the IMF regarding the 2025–26 budget concluded. Sources said that the government has requested the IMF to reduce the super tax target and sought relief for the real estate sector, as well as for salaried class and other segments. The IMF has so far neither agreed to nor rejected any of these relief proposals, the sources said.

According to the sources, the new fiscal year’s annual tax target for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will be divided into two parts. The government has proposed to the IMF to set a target of over Rs14 trillion.

FBR sources said that the IMF has stressed including revenue from pending court cases.

Currently, tax-related cases worth Rs770 billion are under litigation, with decisions expected on Rs250 billion worth of cases by June 30.

At least Rs500 billion in verdicts were expected in the next fiscal year, the sources said.