KARACHI: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday defended a tough new budget as a necessary “signal” of the government’s long-term economic strategy, arguing that reforms were essential despite acknowledging widespread hardship across nearly all sectors.

In post-budget interviews on national television, the minister framed the measures as part of a grand plan developed under the constraints of an IMF programme, prioritising structural change over immediate revenue concerns.

“We have utilised our fiscal space, being in an IMF programme, we thought this budget in terms of signal,” Mr Aurangzeb said. “We have signalled what we want to do.”

A primary objective, he said, is expanding the tax base to include sectors that have previously........

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