Parliament Asked to Regularise Massive Spending Beyond Budget Allocations
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has sought parliamentary approval for a record Rs3.684 trillion in supplementary grants and expenditure adjustments, raising questions about fiscal planning despite repeated claims of austerity and budget discipline.
According to budget documents presented to parliament, the requested amount is more than four times higher than the Rs895 billion regularised during the previous fiscal year. The expenditures relate to spending that exceeded allocations approved by parliament and now require post-facto legal approval.
Officials stated that the grants cover unavoidable expenditures incurred between May and June of fiscal year 2024-25 and from July 2025 to May 2026. The government argued that these expenses could neither be delayed nor financed through existing allocations.
Debt servicing, subsidies, the power sector, defence, health, water resources and civil armed forces account for a significant share of the spending overruns.
Debt Servicing and Power Sector Lead Additional Spending
The largest portion of the supplementary grants relates to debt servicing, which accounts for approximately Rs2.6 trillion for fiscal year 2024-25. Meanwhile, the power sector received an additional Rs430 billion, followed by allocations for subsidies, defence-related expenditures and civil works.
For fiscal year 2025-26, supplementary grants totaling around Rs485 billion have also been requested. Major allocations include grants and subsidies, power sector support, education, defence, health services, social protection programmes and internal security requirements.
Furthermore, funds were allocated for vaccine procurement, border security operations, poverty alleviation initiatives and infrastructure projects.
Additional Allocations Cover Social and Development Programmes
The documents also show supplementary funding for educational institutions, digital governance initiatives, law and order measures and special public welfare programmes.
Notably, allocations included support for the Prime Minister’s Ramadan package, parliamentary development schemes and security arrangements linked to strategic projects.
While government officials maintain that the expenditures were necessary, the scale of the supplementary grants has drawn attention to the gap between approved budget estimates and actual spending requirements.
Parliament is expected to review the requests later this month as part of the budget process, with lawmakers set to examine the justification for the unprecedented expenditure overruns.
