Finance minister presents FY2026-27 budget in NA amid loud protests by opposition

The National Assembly (NA) session for the presentation of the federal budget FY2026-27, originally scheduled for 3pm on Friday, has begun after a delay of two hours.

NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq is presiding over the session.

He asked Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to present the budget amid loud protests by the opposition.

Aurangzeb began by thanking allies part of the ruling coalition, including PPP Chairperson Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari.

He said the budget was being presented at a time when the world listened to Pakistan and desired its friendship. “But this was not coincidental. It began when Pakistan gave a befitting response to India in May 2025.”

“This success was a result of decades-long professional training and preparedness,” he added. “Today, the world praises Pakistan’s defence capabilities. This is the reason that many countries are in contact with Pakistan to include the fighter jets protecting our skies in their fleet.”

The finance minister said the country’s defence sector had become a source of foreign exchange earnings. “It is proof that strong defence is not just important for the country’s sovereignty but could also contribute to economic progress.”

“This defence capability has reshaped our strategic partnerships not just in the region but in the world,” he said, mentioning a defence pact signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last year.

Bilawal attends

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is also among the participants.

Earlier, the PPP, the main ally of the ruling PML-N, said its chairperson Bilawal would not attend the 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 post was later deleted.

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.

A third post by the party said that Bilawal was chairing a joing parliamentary meeting of the PPP, where the budget, Gilgit-Baltistan elections and the situation in Azad Kashmir were discussed.

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 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 dais for some time before returning to their seats. They raised the slogan “Give us water to drink and live”.

The PPP, which is in the government in Sindh, has been complaining of “unjust reduction” in the province’s water share by the Indus River Systems Authority.

PPP leader Shazia Marri, speaking to Geo News, held that the party will only have “token participation” in the budget session, citing an “unreasonable” attitude from ruling ally PML-N.

She said that the PPP had a parliamentary meeting where “key points” emerged, including the “political side” of the PML-N-led federal government, whether over elections in Gilgit-Baltistan or the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and water shortage issues in Sindh and Balochistan.

“PPP has always cooperated in matters of national interest; however, PML-N has its own personal and political interests, and we cannot sacrifice our workers and voters for it,” she said.
She added that the PPP’s sole demand was that it be granted its rightful “political space”.

“Wherever PPP has the mandate, it should be respected,” she added, recalling that PPP had supported PML-N in forming the federal government.

“Do not conspire against PPP’s political space and give us our rightful mandate,” she warned.

Separately, the federal cabinet approved the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in a meeting held at the Parliament House.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also met with a delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), its coalition partner, 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”.

More to follow ...