Elites shielded, citizens sidelined in budget 2025-26

The federal budget 2025-26, along with the provincial budgets announced subsequently, fell short of public expectations. They failed to demonstrate any real intent to deliver meaningful economic relief, acknowledge citizens’ sacrifices in achieving the much-touted economic stability or introduce policies that create jobs and restore upward mobility for families who slipped down the social ladder during the past three years of crisis.

The allocation of scarce resources could have been far more effective had the government embraced evidence-based policymaking and prioritised intervention that genuinely improve the wellbeing of the majority, by creating more opportunities for people and innovative businesses to earn better through hard and smart work.

Rather than appeasing segments of the elite aligned with them politically, such as traders, the landed aristocracy, lazy business barons, manipulative bankers and reckless brokers, the government should have shown greater empathy for ordinary citizens and companies in stress, adopted a scientific, class-neutral approach to tackling national challenges. In Pakistan, the elite maintain direct access to power corridors through their controlling position in governance structures, strong presence in legislative assemblies and influential lobbies and deep pockets to sway opinion in their favour at the relevant forums.

The sidelining of public concerns and the retrogressive policy proposals that once again penalise tax-compliant individuals and businesses, by making them shoulder the cost of non-compliance and inefficiencies, are deeply unfair and misguided. Such measures not only delay genuine progress but also cast doubt on the democratic credentials of political governments at both the federal and provincial levels. They reinforce the perception that the electoral outcomes in Pakistan are engineered, favouring wealthy power yielding elite particularly those willing to serve the interests of status quo. It renders claims of open, fair political contest increasingly hollow.

The quality of debate and the level of participation in the ongoing budget sessions in Pakistan leave much to be desired. The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen), an independent civic watchdog that analyses budget debates and publishes evidence-based reports annually, will release its findings after these sessions conclude. However, Fafen’s previous reports consistently highlight a lack of genuine interest, reflected in low attendance/participation by parliamentarians and debates driven more by political loyalties than the merit of arguments. As a result, these discussions are often high on verbosity but low on substance and constructive scrutiny.

According to the Fafen’s report last year, only 60 members (19.23 per cent) of the National Assembly with a total strength of 312 members, attended all sittings of the first annual budget session. This group included 42 male and 18 female lawmakers. The Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, was among those with perfect attendance, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended seven out of 13 sittings, amounting to 54 per cent participation. The speaker and deputy speaker attended 76 pper cent and 92 per cent of sittings, respectively. Based on official records, the report noted that the average attendance per sitting stood at 231 members, or 68pc of the total membership.

While opposition voices in assemblies have outrightly rejected the budget proposals, few people-centric issues have been raised clearly enough to cut through the noise and national budget sharper direction. Aside from the Pakistan Peoples Party’s stance on reducing steep 18 per cent tariff on imported solar panels and securing higher PSDP allocations for Sindh, and the Muttahida Quomi Movement’s familiar criticism of Karachi’s neglect, most interventions lacked focus on public welfare. A handful of legislators highlighted concerns about the auto industry and some others called for support package for the struggling rural economy.

Meanwhile, treating the defence budget as untouchable subject, no one in the assembly questioned the justification for its increase or examined its composition in detail.      

In the current environment, where officials and the country’s leadership repeatedly tout successes in securing the donor support, containing inflation, narrowing twin deficits and maintaining the rupee’s value, the public still waits for these gains to translate into tangible benefits for them. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s unguarded remarks have done little to reassure people. He defended multiple-fold increases in the incomes of senators and parliamentarians but refused to scale up the Rs37,000 per month minimum wage, arguing it would help corporates manage costs. He showed little concern for the fact that this wage is unsustainable for feeding worker’s family, or that an official admission confirms 80 per cent of businesses do not even comply with this minimum. More than anything, his stance underscores the deep disconnect between the government’s stated priorities and the actual needs of the public.

Another glaring anomaly in the tax regime is the disproportionately high contribution of the salaried class to national revenue. In the first ten months of the last fiscal year , salaried taxpayers contributed Rs430 billion, more than the combined contribution of exporters, agriculturists and retail and wholesale traders. Despite agriculture accounting for 24 per cent of GDP, its projected tax contribution was a mere Rs4 billion. Meanwhile, the retail and wholesale sector, which makes up around 18 per cent of GDP, contributed just 2.9 per cent to total tax revenue.