PoGB finance minister presents deficit budget of PKR 11.92 billion amid opposition protests

Gilgit City [PoGB], June 25 (ANI): The finance minister of Pakistan Occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB), Engineer Muhammad Ismail, presented the financial budget for the year 2024-25, totalling PKR 140.17 billion, on Tuesday.
In the tabled budget, PKR 86 billion was allocated for non-developmental expenses and PKR 34.60 billion was allocated to developmental projects, Dawn reported.
The budget was presented amid demonstrations by the opposition members at the parliament in Gilgit City. According to Ismail, PKR 6.40 billion is estimated as non-tax revenue, and PKR 1.33 billion is estimated to be collected as revenue from PoGB authorities.
Additionally, the budget deficit is estimated to be at PKR 11.92 billion.
However, a protest was initiated in the parliament house by the opposition leader, Kazim Mesum and other members of the assembly.
Mesum in his statement claimed that the budget is inappropriate and neglects key sectors like health and agriculture. According to the Dawn news report, the leader also alleged that the budget was biased towards making budgetary allocations, as funds were only approved for schemes that benefited members of the treasury bench.
The Dawn news report also stated that opposition members also tore copies of the budget speech while surrounding the speaker's desk and the budget announcing the finance minister. As a result, the speaker adjourned the session till June 26 for discussion of the budget.
Although a local news outlet from PoGB reported that, several opposition leaders organised a long march in the streets of Gilgit City, chanting slogans criticising the PoGB budget.
The Minister of Agriculture, PoGB Kazim Mesum in a local news report, "I have raised my voice repeatedly but the administration is not interested in listening to our concerns. Instead of taking considerable actions to resolve our issues, we are being pushed into even more despair. The employees of various departments that had been protesting were promised that their needs would be fulfilled this time but we have read the budget cover to cover but no consideration has been given to those demands."
In the same local news report, while raising the issues raised by media professionals from PoGB Kazim Mesum stated that "Media professionals in PoGB had demanded an endowment fund, but no such allocations have been made in the budget. Similarly, we had raised the issue of vacant teacher positions in PoGB and had made adequate allocations during our time but in this budget, they have not made any allocations regarding this severe issue." (ANI)