NA session for FY2026-27 budget presentation yet to begin; PPP says Bilawal will not attend

The federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY26-27) is set to be presented in the upper and lower houses of the Parliament today. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb was expected to present the financial plan in the National Assembly at 3pm, but the session has yet to begin. Meanwhile, the federal cabinet approved the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in a meeting held at the Parliament House. In a post on X ahead of the NA session, PM Shehbaz said the budget has been prepared with “a lot of hard work and sincerity”. He added that the “welfare and prosperity of Pakistan’s great nation has been given utmost priority”. The premier also met with a delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), its coalition, where the two sides had discussions about the budget. PM Shehbaz termed the MQM-P an “important allied party of the government”, hailing its “positive and constructive role in the development of the country, economic stability, and the completion of the agenda for public welfare”. PPP protest The PPP, the main ally of the ruling PML-N, said its chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would not attend the budget session, but it also clarified that the party was not boycotting the session. “Some members will attend the session. The PPP will be a part of the budget process in the national interest,” the party posted on X. The PPP and PML-N had held multiple rounds of talks ahead of the budget before they settled their issues on matters pertaining to the budget. In a subsequent post, the party said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had held a meeting with Bilawal at Parliament. In the NA today, PPP members, including Shazia Marri, staged a protest before the budget presentation, demanding that the government provide Sindh its due share of water. “Sindh is facing 48 per cent water shortage,” said a placard held by Shazia Mari. PPP members also surrounded the speaker’s dias for some time before return