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Finance Desk | June 2026 | 5 min read |
| ⚡ QUICK TAKEAWAYS |
| • Punjab unveiled a Rs5.903 trillion budget, 10.7% higher than the outgoing year, with current expenditure cut 3.1% to Rs1,962.93bn. |
| • Government salaries rise 7% and pensions 3.5%, but overall salary expenditure grows just 1.4% due to rightsizing measures. |
| • Education gets Rs750bn (15%+ of the budget) and health gets Rs500.62bn (10%+), including a Rs169bn Nawaz Sharif Medical District. |
| • Local governments receive Rs803.88bn under the PFC Award, up 5.2%, while an Rs910bn provincial surplus is built in to meet IMF fiscal targets. |
| • Opposition lawmakers tore up budget books in the assembly; Opposition Leader Moin Riaz Qureshi called it an ‘anti-people and anti-farmer budget.’ |
Punjab presented a Rs5.903 trillion budget for the coming fiscal year on Tuesday, pairing an austerity-driven cut in current expenditure with sizeable increases in salaries, pensions, and social sector spending. Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman delivered the budget speech amid vigorous opposition protests, with lawmakers tearing up budget documents on the assembly floor as Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif looked on.
| Rs5.903tr
Total Budget +10.7% YoY |
-3.1%
Current Expenditure austerity-driven cut |
Rs910bn
Provincial Surplus for IMF fiscal framework |
The Headline Numbers
The total budget outlay of Rs5.903 trillion is 10.7% higher than the outgoing fiscal year. Despite the overall increase, current expenditure is projected at Rs1,962.93 billion — a 3.1% reduction the government attributes to its austerity drive and prudent fiscal management. Capital expenditure is projected at Rs679.01 billion, while the development budget stands at Rs752 billion, made possible, according to the minister, by higher provincial revenues and expenditure rationalisation.
Government employees will see a 7% salary increase and retirees a 3.5% pension increase, but Mujtaba said overall salary expenditure will rise only 1.4% to Rs638.93 billion — a gap he attributed to rightsizing and financial management policies, implying headcount reductions or attrition are offsetting the per-employee raises. Pension expenditure is projected to reach Rs500.12 billion.
Full Budget Breakdown
| Budget Component | Amount | Change / Note |
| Current Expenditure | Rs1,962.93bn | -3.1% |
| Capital Expenditure | Rs679.01bn | — |
| Development Budget | Rs752bn | — |
| Local Govt (PFC Award) | Rs803.88bn | +5.2% |
| Salary Expenditure | Rs638.93bn | +1.4% |
| Pension Expenditure | Rs500.12bn | — |
| Service Delivery | Rs783.62bn | — |
| NFC Federal Transfers | Rs4,390.94bn | +8.1% |
| Provincial Tax Revenue | Rs1,209.86bn | — |
| Non-Tax Revenue | Rs461.17bn | — |
| Estimated Provincial Surplus | Rs910bn | IMF framework |
| 💰 AGGRESSIVE REVENUE TARGETS
The Punjab Revenue Authority has been given a collection target of Rs528.50 billion — 55.4% higher than the outgoing year. The Board of Revenue’s target is Rs86.19 billion, and the Excise and Taxation Department’s target is Rs124 billion, up 77%. Mujtaba said Punjab achieved its highest-ever own-source revenue collection without imposing additional tax burdens, crediting tax base expansion and reformed tax laws. |
Education and Health Get Priority
Education receives Rs750 billion — more than 15% of the total provincial budget — split between Rs63.3 billion in development and Rs686.8 billion in non-development spending. Notable new initiatives include an Autism School in Lahore (Rs670 million, with plans to expand to every division at an estimated Rs4.5 billion), and 244 new IT laboratories in colleges at a cost of Rs6.9 billion, expected to benefit more than 447,000 students. A combined Rs40 billion has been proposed for the Maryam Nawaz Sharif Centre of Academic Leadership, Nawaz Sharif Centres of Excellence, and STEAM Laboratories programmes.
Health receives Rs500.62 billion, also exceeding 10% of the total budget. The centrepiece new health initiative is the Nawaz Sharif Medical District, beginning construction in the coming fiscal year at an estimated cost of Rs169 billion, which will include a children’s hospital, orthopaedic and surgical units, and a plastic and burn care unit. The Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research, already under construction at an estimated Rs75 billion, receives a further Rs20 billion allocation.
| Sector | Total Allocation | Development | Non-Development | Share of Budget |
| Education | Rs750bn | Rs63.3bn | Rs686.8bn | >15% |
| Health | Rs500.62bn | Rs76.30bn | Rs424.32bn | >10% |
| Agriculture & Livestock | Rs132.54bn | — | — | — |
| Roads (new initiative) | Rs100bn | New programme | — | — |
Other major health achievements cited include the Maryam Nawaz Health Clinics Programme (Rs21 billion, outsourcing 2,508 BHUs and 115 RHCs), recruitment of 20,000 community health inspectors and over 60,000 lady health workers, and the Clinic-on-Wheels Programme, which benefited more than 30.7 million patients at a cost of Rs3.50 billion, with Rs3.85 billion proposed for its continuation. The Children’s Heart Surgery Programme has performed more than 13,000 surgeries at a cost of Rs3.21 billion.
Business, Agriculture, and Infrastructure
On industry, the Sanati Taraqi and Export Promotion (STEP) Financing Programme will extend support to 463 industrial projects at a cost of Rs193 billion, offering subsidised loans of up to Rs5 billion with repayment periods up to 10 years — projected to mobilise Rs300 billion in private investment, create roughly 294,000 jobs, and generate $5.6 billion in export potential.
Agriculture, livestock, and aquaculture receive Rs132.54 billion for the coming year, part of a three-year Rs481 billion economic transformation plan expected to draw an additional Rs134 billion in private investment. A new Rs100 billion road infrastructure programme will fund construction and rehabilitation across various districts, alongside Rs36 billion to complete ongoing road schemes.
Opposition Protest and Criticism
As the budget speech began, opposition lawmakers gathered near the speaker’s chair, tore up budget books, and chanted slogans against the government. Opposition Leader Moin Riaz Qureshi rejected the budget outright at a subsequent press conference, describing it as an anti-people and anti-farmer budget that amounted to nothing more than a jugglery of words and numbers, reflecting what he called a non-serious approach to public issues.
Qureshi linked Pakistan’s broader political instability to the Iran-Israel conflict’s global economic impact, arguing the country cannot move forward without political stability, and referenced PTI founder Imran Khan’s continued detention. He also criticised the government’s transparency, alleging the opposition had requested printed budget copies but instead received USB drives, and questioned the lack of disclosure around a government aircraft purchase. He predicted the government would be forced to introduce a supplementary budget within four months.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the Punjab budget speech delivered by Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman and statements from Opposition Leader Moin Riaz Qureshi. Figures are as presented in the provincial assembly and remain subject to legislative approval and revision.
