ISLAMABAD: The federal government could postpone the presentation of Budget 2025–26 once again, owing to scheduling challenges linked to the Eid ul Adha holidays, Finance Ministry sources said on Thursday.
With Eid likely to fall on June 7 and 8 (Saturday and Sunday), officials suggest that June 9—the third day of Eid—may need to be declared a working day to accommodate key economic events.
According to the tentative schedule, both the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting and the release of the Economic Survey 2025 are currently set for June 9.
However, finance ministry sources say it will be unfeasible to conduct both the NEC meeting and the Economic Survey launch on June 9.
The NEC meeting, which typically spans the entire day, finalises the federal and provincial development programmes and is attended by the chief ministers of all four provinces, the prime minister of Azad Kashmir, and representatives from Gilgit-Baltistan.
Traditionally, a two-day gap is observed between the NEC meeting and the formal presentation of the federal budget in parliament. In light of this, officials suggest that the budget may now be presented on June 12, two days later than the currently expected June 10.
A few days back, the federal government had postponed the budget presentation from the initially planned June 2 to June 10, citing unresolved fiscal targets in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
Talks between the government and the IMF resumed last week but failed to yield a breakthrough.
Meanwhile, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has signalled tax relief for the salaried class, saying the upcoming federal budget will include measures to ease the financial burden on salaried individuals.
Speaking at an event in Islamabad on Monday, the finance minister said the government is actively working to reduce the tax burden on salaried persons, adding that their income is taxed as soon as it is credited into their accounts.
He stressed the need for a strategic direction in the budget, not just a statement of income and expenditure.
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