National Assembly opposition leader Omar Ayub, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, Salman Akram Raja and Senator Shibli Faraz on Tuesday criticised the federal budget for 2025–26, describing it as "the burden on the poor and relief for the elite".
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Raja said that the budget was designed to make the poor "poorer" and the rich even "richer". He was of the view that in the previous year, the tax burden on salaried individuals was increased by 100 per cent, despite repeated requests from this segment for relief.
Raja added that the tax on the purchase and sale of plots in Islamabad had been reduced from four per cent, while households attempting to save modest amounts were effectively sacrificed in favour of large investors. He said: "The increase in the Petroleum Development Levy, which, he said, was deliberately not labelled as a tax to avoid sharing revenue with the provinces."
Meanwhile, Senator Faraz said that the budget, like those of the past three years, was crafted to serve the interests of the elite, breaking all previous records in doing so. He claimed that a privileged segment of society had been granted financial benefits amounting to Rs5 trillion.
Criticising economic performance, Faraz said: "The agriculture sector had shown negative growth this year, due to the government's failed policies." He said that the industrial and services sectors had also been severely impacted, adding that 30 per cent of the population could not afford to offer a sacrificial animal this year.
He highlighted that the national debt had reached Rs73 trillion and blamed the incumbent government for the depreciation of the Pakistani rupee, which he said had now fallen below the value of the Afghan currency.
Expressing support for government employees' protests, Faraz said that the salaried class was being subjected to injustice and endorsed their demand for a further increase in wages.
Meanwhile, Ayub said: "The PTI and its allies outright reject the budget." He alleged: "The statistics presented in the recent economic survey were misleading and reiterated in the budget."
Ayub accused the government of relying entirely on falsehoods. He argued that the reported GDP growth of 2.7 per cent was impossible, as nearly every economic indicator reflected negative trends.
Ayub said: "In March 2022, petrol was priced at Rs150 per litre, which had now risen to Rs253 per litre. During our tenure, chicken was Rs287 per kg, which has now reached Rs600. The prices of milk, eggs and onions have all risen several times over compared to our time in office.”
