{"id":1281,"date":"2026-06-12T16:35:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/?p=1281"},"modified":"2026-06-12T16:35:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:35:44","slug":"pm-shehbaz-stresses-strong-security-ahead-of-budget-presentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/pm-shehbaz-stresses-strong-security-ahead-of-budget-presentation\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Shehbaz stresses strong security ahead of budget presentation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ISLAMABAD<\/strong>: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday stressed the importance of the country having \u201cstrong\u201d security, as he spoke about the budget-making process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He made the remarks during a federal cabinet meeting that approved the budget, which is now expected to be tabled in the parliament. \u201cToday, we are presenting the third budget of our government,\u201d the premier noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were definitely a lot of challenges while preparing this budget. I believe that no nation can handle its matters, let alone make progress, if its security is not strong and invincible,\u201d the prime minister stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, \u201cWe have to build water reservoirs and dams [as well as] work with speed on indigenous energy resources, which include solar panels, wind, and batteries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime minister mentioned that \u201cmeasures for tax relief and economic progress\u201d will be proposed in the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting that the government had \u201clengthy discussions\u201d with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the budget-making process, PM Shehbaz said he had a 30 to 45-minute-long phone call with its Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who hailed Pakistan\u2019s economic progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the PML-N had \u201cvery detailed conversations\u201d with its ally PPP, which were \u201csuccessful\u201d. He also thanked other coalition allies for their \u201cunconditional\u201d support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime minister highlighted that the Centre remained engaged in \u201ccomprehensive interaction\u201d with the four provinces over the past one and a half months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were told how the centre needs additional funds,\u201d he said, terming the dialogue with the provinces \u201cvery meaningful\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PML-N and the PPP had agreed to cut development and other expenditures at all tiers of the federation and jointly create similar, but higher, fiscal space next year for additional \u201cstrategic needs\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, the freeze on allocations for provincial development programmes will continue for a specific period beyond one year, according to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his address, PM Shehbaz appreciated PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, calling him his \u201cleader\u201d, and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for \u201cshowing a big heart for the pressing needs of the federal government\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey said that they stood ready to extend support to the federal government in challenges in defence and water security,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime minister then recalled his team had \u201cseveral\u201d meetings with the Sindh leadership, which also cooperated. He thanked President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for their \u201cdecision in the best interest of the country\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PM Shehbaz also thanked Balochistan CM Sarfraz Bugti\u2019s \u201cbig-heartedness\u201d and KP CM Sohail Afridi\u2019s \u201cpositive sentiments\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere can be no grander demonstration of national unity, solidarity, and cohesion than this,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The premier acknowledged that \u201cdespite our best efforts\u201d, the government had to impose taxes in the past two budgets due to the \u201cnational and IMF requirements so that the economy [\u2026] could be stabilised and the avenues for progress could be expanded\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime minister added: \u201cDefinitely, the common man had to face many difficulties due to it, and I, on my own and the cabinet\u2019s behalf, would like to thank the 240 million people of Pakistan who tolerated the inflation with patience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PM Shehbaz highlighted that inflation had declined to single-digit from 38 per cent in the past two years, before increasing slightly due to the ongoing Middle East conflict. He further highlighted that the policy rate had also dipped to 11pc from 22.5pc during the period, but had to be raised due to the impacts of the US-Iran war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, our economy is stable, and we should hope that with this third budget, [\u2026] the wheel of our economy will pick up pace on the condition that we collectively work hard around the clock and stand ready to fulfil our responsibilities,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the outset of his address, PM Shehbaz said he attended the funeral prayers of \u201cmartyrs who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty\u201d, which included two Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a heart-wrenching scenario that brought tears to every eye,\u201d he said, recalling his meeting with the families of the martyred personnel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday stressed the importance of the country having \u201cstrong\u201d security, as he spoke about the budget-making process. He made the remarks during a federal cabinet meeting that approved the budget, which is now expected to be tabled in the parliament. \u201cToday, we are presenting the third budget of our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,16,2],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[27],"class_list":["post-1281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-latest","category-national","category-pakisstan"],"authors":[{"term_id":27,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"afnanwasif","display_name":"Web Desk","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cbec8328241e98fefcd32e00f20f7a6b502086a0b95d395db4b1565c51681914?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"1","first_name":"Web","last_name":"Desk","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1282,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281\/revisions\/1282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1281"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}