BALOCHISTAN BUDGET 2026-27: Press shut out as Balochistan budget draws MPAs’ ire

For the first time in the history, journalists were denied copies of the budget documents on the second day of the assembly session. Lawmakers, however, received the files on Wednesday when Finance Minister Shoaib Nosherwani formally presented the annual financial plan to the house. As debate opened, both opposition and treasury members severely criticised the spending plan. Lawmakers dismissed the Rs206 billion allocation for the Public Sector Development Programme as “peanuts”, criticising the government for failing to include significant, large-scale projects. They also noted that despite allocating massive funds for law and order, terrorism and instability in the province continued to worsen. Opposition Leader Mir Younas Aziz Zehri opened the debate, stating the development allocation was a grave injustice and insufficient for a province of its size. He claimed the federal government unfairly reduced Balochistan’s budget by Rs63bn. Zehri rejected allegations that lawmakers are responsible for corruption in development funding, clarifying that elected representatives only propose projects while government departments handle execution. “If corruption occurs, it happens at the departmental level,” Zehri said. He also condemned the recent use of force against protesting teachers and questioned the government’s promise of 5,000 new jobs, noting that thousands of vacancies announced last year remain unfilled. National Party President and former chief minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch strongly rejected the federal and provincial budge