Ruling allies huddle next week

ISLAMABAD: The ruling alliance would discuss decisions pertaining to the developments taking place in the country, prevailing political situation and outlines of the next fiscal year’s budget in a meeting next week. The huddle is being called early next week soon after the return of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from Ankara. The prime minister, who has summoned the meeting, would be in chair and PDM chief Fazlur Rehman would also be in attendance.

Highly-placed sources told The News Friday that PMLN Quaid Nawaz Sharif will also take part in the discussion through zoom. Shehbaz is expected to take part in a high-echelon meeting on the upcoming budget the following day. Nawaz has asked him to coordinate efforts for putting up a budget that must be pro-poor. Minister for Finance Muhammad Ishaq Dar, State Minister for Finance Ayesha Ghaus Pasha and senior high-ups of the finance ministry will also attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, political sources have speculated that the prime minister could visit London briefly before returning home for consultations with Nawaz Sharif. Syed Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM), who is accompanying the prime minister didn’t respond when inquired about the prime minister’s plan to visit London.

The meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) will be taking place on Thursday and it will also be chaired by the prime minister. All the four chief ministers are being invited for the NEC.It will approve the national development outlay, growth and revenue targets to be set by the government for the next fiscal year 2023-24.

The prime minister appointed four ministers and one member each by the chief ministers for the council. Shehbaz reconstituted the NEC last year and included Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Syed Naveed Qamar and Maulana Assad Mahmood.The budget for the next year would be presented in the National Assembly on June 9 (Friday) by Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar and the same would be transmitted to the Senate the same evening.