NA approves 12 demands for grants worth Rs 4.282 trillion after rejecting opposition cut motions

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Sunday approved 12 demands for grants amounting to Rs 4,282,000,000,000 (Rs4.282 trillion) after rejecting all 100 cut motions moved by opposition lawmakers.

The demands for grants were tabled by Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb to meet the expenditures for next financial year ending, June, 2027.

The demands for grants included Rs5.66 billion for the Finance Division, Rs9.87 billion for other expenditure of the Finance Division, and Rs14.91 billion for the Controller General of Accounts.

The House also approved Rs1.162 trillion for superannuation allowances and pensions and Rs2.504 trillion for grants, subsidies and miscellaneous expenditure.

Other allocations include Rs106 million for the Revenue Division and Rs85.60 billion for the Federal Board of Revenue.

The National Assembly further approved Rs94.71 billion for federal miscellaneous investments and other loans and advances, Rs231.08 billion for other development expenditure, and Rs2.35 billion for capital outlay on federal investments.

Additional approvals include Rs169.21 billion for development loans and advances by the federal government and Rs2.3 billion for external development loans and advances by the federal government.

Responding to points raised by opposition MNAs, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said that key issues, including taxation reforms, energy sector reforms, public debt servicing, and governance reforms, had already been discussed in detail during earlier budget sessions and in the winding-up speech.

The minister said Pakistan’s economic indicators had improved since 2022, claiming that growth had reached around 3.7 percent, the primary surplus was at a historic level, and the current account had remained in surplus during the previous year as well as in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.

He also said that the debt-to-GDP ratio had declined from around 70 percent to 68 percent, describing it as an important development.

Highlighting reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he said improvements were being introduced in processes, human resources, and technology.

He added that the government remained confident of achieving future revenue targets, noting that no new taxes had been imposed and that efforts were focused on enforcement and compliance.

He further said that over the past two years, recoveries worth hundreds of billions of rupees had been made through long-pending litigation cases, crediting relevant legal and revenue authorities for their support.

He expressed hope that ongoing reforms and economic measures would continue to yield positive results, adding that stability and progress required collective effort and a positive outlook.

He also appreciated the performance of MNA Mobeen Arif during the last financial year in the Finance Committee and invited him to rejoin the committees.