Islamabad / Karachi (HRNW): Following the release of the staggering and highly disappointing fiscal figures for the Federal Budget 2026–27, a wave of profound concern has swept through public and economic circles. The entire federal framework appears completely submerged under the weight of deficit, debt servicing, and conventional expenditures. While the total budget volume is set at a massive PKR 18,771 billion, the lion’s share of this amount is tied up in debt interest and federal liabilities rather than public welfare, leaving the common citizen to echo the ancient idiom: “How can a bald woman wash her hair, and what will she wring out?”
According to official budgetary documentation, out of the total PKR 18,771 billion layout, a staggering PKR 8,848 billion will be directly transferred to the provinces under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award. Following this statutory devolution, the remaining net revenue of the federation falls drastically short of even covering a single major expense: domestic and foreign debt servicing, which alone demands an astronomical PKR 8,054 billion. Furthermore, PKR 3,000 billion has been earmarked for national defense, PKR 2,680 billion allocated for various federal grants, PKR 1,169 billion for government pensions, and PKR 1,091 billion set aside for subsidies across different sectors. Conversely, the Federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP)—meant to sustain national infrastructure and growth—has been squeezed down to a mere PKR 1,000 billion, while the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) receives PKR 815 billion for low-income social safety nets.
Economic analysts have sharply criticized the fiscal policy, pointing out that apart from imposing aggressive tax burdens and wringing out the middle and lower classes, the government lacks a structural or revolutionary plan to expand alternate revenue streams or foster productivity. Experts warn that without documenting the informal economy and generating new production channels, it is impossible for the state to function sustainably. Deprived of basic public utilities like uninterrupted electricity, gas, and clean water, and lacking access to quality state-funded education, healthcare, and baseline infrastructure, the public remains crushed under backbreaking inflation. Reviewing the newly released fiscal layout, citizens across the country are left in deep distress, asking one fundamental question: “What exactly has been given to us?”
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