BUDGET 2026-27: Political, fiscal reality to reshape uplift budget as NEC meets today
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
The NEC — the highest economic decision-making forum of the federation, led by the prime minister and comprising the four chief ministers and four federal ministers — has a four-point agenda for the meeting. The first item pertains to a review of the Annual Plan 2025-26, approval of the Annual Plan 2026-27 and a presentation on key socio-economic indicators of the provinces. This will be followed by a review of Public Sector Investment (PSI) 2025-26, the proposed PSI 2026-27 and confirmation of changes made in the PSDP 2025-26 through addendums, corrigendums and adjustments on the directives of the prime minister, including a cut of around Rs175bn. The meeting will also include presentations on provincial annual development plans by the four chief secretaries. Besides, the NEC will take up a progress report of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, and schemes approved by the CDWP and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) during the same period. Projects face delays, overruns The Planning Commission will also present highlights of the monitoring and evaluation report of mega projects. According to the report, the PSDP 2025-26 portfolio comprised 801 projects, including 734 ongoing and 67 new initiatives being implemented by 40 ministries, divisions and state-owned enterprises. Out of 240 projects selected for monitoring during the current financial year, 170 had been monitored by March 2026, including specially assigned cases. Priority monitoring was