Finance Ministry denies reports of Dar taking over budget process

Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance has rejected media reports claiming that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had been handed control of the federal budget-making process, calling the reports “misleading” and “factually incorrect”.

The clarification came after a media report suggested that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had assigned Ishaq Dar the responsibility of finalising the upcoming federal budget after being dissatisfied with the initial preparations.

According to the report, the prime minister constituted a committee headed by Dar to review and analyse tax policy proposals prepared by the Tax Policy Office under the Finance Division. It also claimed that the committee would oversee decisions related to new taxes and relief measures for the next fiscal year.

Responding to the claims, the Finance Ministry said the formation of review committees was a normal consultative process and did not mean that the budget-making authority had been shifted away from the ministry or Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

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The ministry stated that preparing the federal budget, including fiscal planning, macroeconomic strategy, expenditure management and coordination with the International Monetary Fund, remained the responsibility of the Finance Division under the leadership of the finance minister.

It further explained that the prime minister, as head of government, has the constitutional authority to seek input from cabinet members on important economic and fiscal matters before finalising the budget.

The statement also noted that Muhammad Aurangzeb himself was part of the committee established by the prime minister and continued to lead discussions with international financial institutions on budgetary issues.

Separately, another committee headed by Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema was formed to review enforcement and revenue administration proposals.

The ministry criticised the media report for allegedly creating a false impression of divisions within the government, stressing that the federal budget remains a collective constitutional exercise carried out under the prime minister’s leadership with the Finance Ministry playing its central role.