2011-12 Budget: Parliament session called on June 3

Federal Minister for Finance will present budget during the first sitting of lower house of parliament.

ISLAMABAD:

Speculations over the budget presentation were laid to rest on Saturday when President Asif Ali Zardari requisitioned a parliamentary session on June 3 for the presentation of the next financial year’s budget.

The National Assembly and Senate are scheduled to meet on the same day, June 3, said a statement issued by presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar.

Federal Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh will present the 2011-12 budget during the first sitting of the lower house of parliament. It is likely that the National Assembly will pass it on
June 24.

The budget session will last more than 20 days. At the end of the session, the two bills and audit reports of the Auditor-General of Pakistan are likely to be presented in the assembly. Earlier, the government postponed the session, scheduled to meet on May 28, for a week. The failure of economic managers to develop a consensus with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had reportedly been cited as the reason for the delay in announcing the federal budget.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2011.