PM says economic indicators satisfactory as cabinet approves budget

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that all economic indicators were stable and satisfactory, thanks to the government’s efforts, people’s sacrifices and contributions from stakeholders to the national economy.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting prior to according approval to the fiscal budget for 2025-26, the prime minister said they would deliberate on the new budget and accord its approval. He said that during the past one and a quarter year, the nation faced tough situations and challenges and addressing them was no ordinary achievement.

The common man and the salaried class made sacrifices, the prime minister said, adding that the salaried class was now asking they contributed about Rs400 billion to the national exchequer in taxes, so how much had the wealthy and opulent contributed? The prime minister, in his address telecast on TV channels, further observed that due to the sacrifices of the nation and the government’s efforts, Pakistan reached at a point to take off as all the stability indicators were satisfactory. Exports and remittances showed a quantum jump, with IT exports ever increasing, he said, and stressed that these sectors had the potential to further grow.

He said the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir were facing the worst kind of tyranny and barbarism.

The prime minister reiterated that Pakistan would not let India weaponise water and take all steps to ensure that there was no interruption in Pakistan’s water share.

He observed that if the same passion with which the entire nation had been galvanised during the armed conflict was manifested in the economic field, they would achieve their objectives as there was nothing impossible. He also appreciated Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and the provincial governments over their consultations on the water storage issue. The prime minister commended the finance minister, his team and all the stakeholders for their efforts in preparation of the fiscal budget. Earlier, the cabinet meeting, chaired by the prime minister, approved the federal budget for the fiscal year 2025-26. According to sources, the meeting deliberated upon the key budget proposals and layout and accorded its approval accordingly.