On June 9 or June 10, 2023, the federal administration will most likely deliver the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2023–24 to the National Assembly.

In the following weeks, meetings of the important decision-makers are planned to discuss the budget. According to a national daily, the National Economic Council meeting, which will be presided over by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, is also planned for the first week of June.

The federal budget for this year is particularly important because of the escalating economic crisis and the record-breaking inflation rates that have made even the most basic necessities costly. Despite commitments from friendly nations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme has been in limbo since November of last year. According to reports, efforts are being made to maintain consistency between the budget ideas and the IMF’s recommendations.

With only a few weeks’ worth of reserves, Pakistan needs the lender’s $1.1 billion bailout package, which has been postponed since last year, in order to survive the approaching months.

Creating the budget is a significant problem for the present administration given the higher-than-ever stakes. With election season just around the bend, it will be interesting to see how the ruling coalition presents the annual budget while managing these difficulties.