A welfare-oriented federal budget

AS and when the largest coalition government at the national level headed by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif starts preparations for presenting another budget to the nation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) immediately gets involved in this budget-making process from start to end. Nothing—repeat nothing—is included in the federal budget without the approval of the IMF. As such, it was pertinent to dilate on Pakistan-IMF relations first and then discuss the Federal Budget 2026–27, which was the third presentation of the incumbent federal government. The IMF was founded in December 1945, apparently after the end of the Second World War and has its headquarters in Washington DC, USA. It has 191 member countries. While 191 nations participate in the institution and its global economic monitoring, any member experiencing balance of payments issues is eligible to become a beneficiary of its loans, financial assistance and technical support. Pakistan officially joined the IMF on July 11, 1950. Since joining the Fund, Pakistan has sought IMF financial assistance a total of 25 times. As such, Pakistan and the IMF share a long-standing relationship of financial support and economic reforms, which has since evolved into a 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of approximately US $7 billion. The programme, which is due to be terminated next year, strictly focuses on maintaining fiscal discipline, broadening the tax base and restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The relationship has been marked by cyclical dependencies, with Pakistan seeking bailout packages to stabilize foreign exchange reserves and prevent sovereign defaults. The IMF office in Islamabad actively monitors ongoing progress. June is the last month of an outgoing financial year. As such, the federal and provincial budgets have to be presented, discussed and approved by the respective national and provincial legislatures before midnight of June 30, as the very next day, i.e., July 01, a new fina