Finance Minister Aurangzeb rejects opposition objections, defends budget transparency

ISLAMABAD – Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Saturday rejected opposition criticism of the federal budget, stating that claims of discrepancies in financial documents were based on “misinterpretation”. Concluding the budget debate in the National Assembly, the finance minister said key economic indicators, including GDP figures, were presented before the National Accounts Committee, which includes representatives from the federal government, provinces, and relevant institutions. He maintained that the budget process had been carried out in a transparent manner, while acknowledging that some lawmakers had expressed concerns during deliberations. Aurangzeb thanked members of parliament for their participation in the debate, including the opposition leader and chairpersons of the finance committees in both houses of parliament. He said parliamentary standing committees had reviewed budget proposals “with sincerity” and forwarded recommendations, some of which would be incorporated into the Finance Bill 2026. Highlighting the economic situation, the finance minister said industrial activity remained stable, the current account had shown improvement, exports were rising, and IT exports had increased by 20 percent. He also claimed that the government had generated an additional $14 billion in revenue over the past two years, describing it as a record increase since 1988. On agriculture, Aurangzeb termed the sector the backbone of the economy and said the government was providing Rs300 billion in interest-free loans to small farmers, benefiting around 750,000 farmers across the country. He added that the economic direction set by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the previous budget had contributed to stabilising macroeconomic conditions. The federal budget for the financial year 2026–27 was presented with a total outlay of Rs18,771 billion. The largest allocation is for debt servicing at Rs8.054 trillion, followed by Rs3 trillion for defence spending and Rs1 tr