In his closing remarks at the end of the debate on the National Assembly budget, the Minister for Finance counters the opposition’s allegations of inconsistencies in statistics, speaks of a record amount of $14 billion extra income, introduces new agricultural concessions, and lauds Pakistan’s role in mediating between the US and Iran as a “golden chapter,” which has resulted in lower prices for petrol.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb made a strong case in favor of the national budget of 2026-27 on Saturday, brushing aside opposition criticism regarding differences in official economic figures and stressing that the GDP statistics of Pakistan comply with global standards of calculations. The Aurangzeb budget of 2027 FY was proposed at the conclusion of the budget debate in the National Assembly and is seen as a growth-oriented budget aimed at widening the tax net and increasing exports.
Rebuttal of GDP inconsistencies by Aurangzeb
The Aurangzeb budget FY27 defense speech was launched with a direct response to a privilege motion raised by two members of parliament Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood and Azimuddin Zahid, regarding discrepancies in the budget concerning GDP growth rate, per capita income, and calculations for economic indicators.
According to Aurangzeb, the growth rate of real GDP for FY26 was 3.7 percent which was computed using constant prices based on the base year of FY15-16, in line with international conventions in statistics. He elaborated on how real GDP differs from nominal GDP as two different measures, and he went further to say that per capita income is computed based on GNI at current prices and population data from the 2023 census and future projections. It is important to note that GNI includes net factor income earned abroad, including workers’ remittances.
“Deeper and wider, but not heavier” taxation policy
To counter the perennial criticism concerning the burden of taxes for the registered corporate entities and wage earners, Aurangzeb contended that there has been a conscious shift of strategy by the government towards widening the tax net.
He highlighted the Fixed Asaan Tax Scheme as the core strategy aimed at luring more firms under the ambit of formal taxation, while emphasizing that the FY27 budget lightens the load of salaried individuals, small businesses, exporters, and industrialists on grounds of equality and justice.
Addressing agriculture as the economic spine of Pakistan, Aurangzeb introduced an extensive relief package for the agricultural sector in his defense of the FY27 budget.
Furthermore, he made plans for further cooperation in agriculture, including training facilities for Pakistani students and experts, along with Rs4.2 billion budgeted for agricultural and livestock development schemes.
The economic indicators of Aurangzeb
When looking at the economic front, Aurangzeb believes that the direction of policy chosen in the last budget is now yielding positive results. He mentioned the large increase in manufacturing growth by 6.6%, which is the highest in four years. There is also stability in the external accounts with a current account surplus for the first eleven months of fiscal year 26. The worker’s remittance hit an all-time high of $4.25 billion in May, and he was confident that the target would be achieved.
Regarding exports, he highlighted the 20 percent growth in IT exports in the last year and the record export earning of Pakistani freelancers worth $1.6 billion, along with gains in sectors such as garments, home textiles, and IT.
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Mediation of Iran and the US through Pakistan gets a mention in debate on budget
Aurangzeb took a step out of his budget-related talk and mentioned the mediation process of the United States and Iran carried out through Pakistan, which resulted in the signing of a peace memo at the start of the week. He referred to the process as a “golden chapter” in the history of diplomacy in Pakistan because the first fruit of the process had been witnessed, i.e., reduction in petroleum prices.
Closing the debate with appeals to reach a consensus
Aurangzeb expressed his gratitude to all the lawmakers irrespective of political affiliation, and especially named Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Chairman of Senate Standing Committee on Finance Saleem Mandviwala, and Chairman of National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance Naveed Qamar. It was pointed out that the budgetary plans were thoroughly evaluated by parliamentary committees, with many suggestions being likely to find themselves included in the Finance Bill 2026-27.
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