ISLAMABAD – A major political turn has emerged ahead of the federal budget for the fiscal year 2025–26, as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has extended a formal offer to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), urging it to abstain from voting on the budget in the National Assembly.
The sources said that the offer is part of PTI’s broader strategy to block the approval of the federal budget.
In this context, the sources said, PTI’s senior leader and former speaker of National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, held a key meeting with PPP stalwart Raja Pervaiz Ashraf at the Parliament House.
Both the leaders discussed the possibility of forging a united opposition strategy regarding the budget session.
The development comes at a time when political pressure is mounting on the ruling coalition, particularly from its allies.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah recently voiced strong reservations over the lack of allocation for Sindh-based projects in the federal budget.
In a stern warning, Shah stated that if the concerns of Sindh are not addressed, the PPP may reconsider its support for the budget in the National Assembly.
The PTI’s outreach to PPP is being viewed as an attempt to exploit growing tensions within the ruling coalition and to form a broader anti-government alliance in parliament. With the budget vote expected in the coming days, political negotiations and behind-the-scenes contacts are intensifying.
A decision by PPP to abstain from the vote could potentially jeopardize the passage of the budget and create a significant challenge for the federal government.
