The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has rejected the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year, denouncing it as favouring the elite while disregarding the needs of the working class. In a press conference held in Islamabad on Thursday, PPP’s People’s Labour Bureau head, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad, announced a nationwide protest campaign against what he described as “anti-people economic policies.”
Ahmad criticized the government for offering financial relief to the rich while placing a heavier burden on the poor. “The rich have made a budget for the rich,” he said, adding that every segment of the elite had benefited, while the common citizen continued to face economic hardship.
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The PPP has started mobilising support by reaching out to trade unions and worker groups across the country. Demonstrations are planned in all provinces before the federal budget is passed by the National Assembly, with the party warning that the government will bear responsibility for any resulting political instability.
Ahmad also took issue with the reported salary hikes for top government officials, including cabinet members and heads of constitutional bodies, calling the move a “financial obscenity.” He contrasted this with the meagre raise proposed for labourers, arguing that it exposes deep economic injustice.
Further criticism was directed at a proposal to end pensions after 10 years of retirement for government employees, which Ahmad condemned as “cruel and inhuman.” The PPP’s stance signals a deepening rift over fiscal priorities and growing political tension ahead of the budget’s passage.
