ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s southern Sindh and Balochistan provinces presented their annual budgets for the upcoming fiscal year on Wednesday, with both having a combined outlay of $16.71 billion.
Provincial governments present their annual budgets for the forthcoming year after the federal government unveils the national budget. The budgets followed a day after the Punjab government presented its $21.2 billion budget for FY27.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah presented the budget for Sindh with a total outlay of Rs2,562 billion [$12.8 billion] in the provincial assembly.
“The chief minister announced that no new tax has been imposed in the budget,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Shah proposed a seven percent increase in salaries and pensions of government employees. He also proposed the merger of the ad hoc allowances of 2022 and 2025 into the basic pay of government employees.
He announced an increase in the minimum wage from Rs40,000 [$143.8] to Rs43,000 [$154.4] per month, adding that Sindh has also allocated Rs620 billion [$2.23 billion] for the education sector.
Shah announced that free home solar systems will be distributed among 275,000 households at a cost of Rs18 billion [$64.6 million] in the upcoming fiscal year.
BALOCHISTAN BUDGET
Meanwhile, Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani presented the budget for FY27 with a total outlay of Rs1,089 billion [$3.91 billion] during a session of the provincial assembly.
Nosherwani said Rs797 billion [$2.86 billion] have been allocated for non-development expenditures, while Rs206 billion [$740 million] have been earmarked for development expenditures in the budget.
He said Rs45 billion [$161.7 million] have been allocated for federally funded projects while Rs40 billion [$143.8 million] have been allocated for foreign project assistance.
For the school education sector, Nosherwani said Balochistan has allocated Rs127 billion [$456.3 million] in budget FY27.
