PMLN discusses relief measures in budget

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) held a pre-budget consultative meeting at Jati Umra here on Wednesday, in which relief measures in the upcoming budget were discussed in detail.

Party sources said PMLN President Nawaz Sharif co-chaired the meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Senator Pervez Rasheed and senior government officials were in attendance.

Party sources said the meeting discussed the economic situation and agreed that official expenditures should be reduced. The participants agreed to give relief to electricity consumers using up to 200 units per month. Nawaz Sharif directed CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz to further improve the supply of free medicines and treatment facilities and Shehbaz Sharif to announce direct and indirect subsidies to farmers and the agriculture sector.

The consultative meeting discussed giving all possible relief to people in the budget for the financial year 2024-25 and decided that all government departments would give their input and suggest what kind of relief they could provide to people. According to the party sources, the meeting continued for three hours. Sources said the federal ministers and secretaries, who participated in the meeting, also presented suggestions for possible relief measures on behalf of their respective departments.

Apart from this, CM Maryam Nawaz proposed measures to provide full relief on behalf of her provincial government, while former PM Nawaz Sharif also issued instructions based on his extensive political and administrative experience in the budget consultative meeting. However, the party did not release any official statement regarding the meeting and the decisions taken in it.