• Aims at cash surplus of Rs36.5bn through ‘austerity’
• Major initiatives include infrastructure projects, reforms, job creation and restoration of peace • Minister Nausherwani claims entire development fund of Rs219bn fully utilised for first time in outgoing year

QUETTA: The PPP-led government in Balochistan on Tuesday presented its second budget of the current term, featuring a record outlay of Rs1.03 trillion and proposing a development expenditure of Rs349.5 billion.

The budget for the fiscal year of 2025-26 also commits to ‘austerity’ in its current expenditure, aiming to produce a provincial cash surplus of Rs36.5bn, according to budget documents.

The budget was presented by Finance Minis­ter Mir Shoaib Nausherwani in the Balochistan Assembly, who claimed it was “not a mere document”, but a “roadmap for sustainable economic progress” of the strife-ridden province.

He claimed the government fully utilised the development budget — Rs219bn — for the first time in history in the outgoing fiscal year.

In comparison, the average utilisation had been 60pc during the three previous years.

The budget projects most of its receipts — Rs801bn — in the shape........

© Dawn Business