Pakistan: Upcoming budget could further worsen situation for general public, says expert

Karachi [Pakistan], June 9 : Pakistan's budget for the year 2024-2025, which is likely to be presented this month, could lead to severe problems for the general public in Pakistan, an expert warned.
Amid rising inflation and debt, the Pakistani economy continues to be majorly dependent upon relief packages from international lending organizations like the IMF.
Islamabad is now forced to adjust the budget and the economy according to conditions set by the lending parties, regardless of whether these conditions are hard on the public's pocket.
Rehmatullah, a working professional from Karachi, said that the leaders of the last several governments repeatedly claimed that, if they come to power they will make policies that will comfort the general public, but in reality, the budget "has not changed the on-ground reality."
"Budget is a document that must provide relief to the people or ensure the development but our country's budget is not doing the same as it is always affected by the country's private sector and the IMF. National institutions like the Planning Commission and the Central Bank in Pakistan are not fulfilling their duties. These institutions now seem to be non-beneficial for the people of the country," he said.
The expert further said that budgets are generally made, keeping the capacities of the governmental institutions in mind, but "that is is not the case in Pakistan."
"Several governmental institutions in Pakistan have land resources that remain unused, making no contributions to the betterment of the country. The international lenders are not supposed to take care of our country and the people, we have our country's financial institutions for that, but this is not happening in Pakistan. I sometimes believe that our institutions now don't have the capacity that they need to take this country in the right direction" Rehmatullah added.
Notably, inflation in Pakistan continues to remain rampant, and basic necessities in the country remain out of the reach of the general population because of low incomes.
Lamenting the problems in Pakistan's economy, Rehmatullah stated, "The inflation in our country is out of control and this is a cruel reality, even when there are institutions like the Retail Price Control Authority. A simple Roti (a type of bread) costs PKR 30 which is a lot. A working professional who earns a limited salary every month cannot afford such a high process, because he also has to manage other things like, medical expenses, education of children, and rent."
"You keep spending huge sums of money on security agencies, but that remains ineffective. Today, the incidents of street crime remain high, and there is no sense of security amongst the people. Then what is the benefits of such high-security expenses?" he added.