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Fiscal oversight push
A US State Department report calls for Pakistan to strengthen parliamentary oversight of public finances by improving timely disclosure of budget proposals, government debt and other fiscal information.
“did not publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period”
The report said Pakistan “did not publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period,” even as it noted that “the government made its enacted budget and end-of-year report widely and easily accessible to the public, including online.”
It recommended that Pakistan make its executive budget proposal publicly available within a “reasonable period,” so Parliament and the public could examine spending and revenue priorities before formal approval.
The assessment also pointed to gaps in information about Pakistan’s financial liabilities, saying the government “made only limited information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt, publicly available.”
Military budgets under scrutiny
The report’s most pointed finding was that Pakistan’s military and intelligence budgets were not subject to adequate parliamentary or civilian public oversight.
The Economic Times wrote that the report said “The military and intelligence budgets were not subject to adequate parliamentary or civilian public oversight,” and it also flagged that Pakistan had not published its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period.
The Times of India similarly quoted the report that “The military and intelligence budgets were not subject to adequate parliamentary or civilian public oversight,” framing the issue as limiting time for lawmakers and civil society to examine spending before adoption.
While raising those concerns, the report also credited Pakistan’s supreme audit institution, saying its audit reports were made publicly available within a reasonable period and that the institution met international standards of independence.
Debt, timing, and next steps
Beyond oversight of defense and intelligence, the report urged Pakistan to disclose detailed information on government debt obligations, including liabilities linked to state-owned enterprises.
“detailed information about government debt obligations, including liabilities linked to state-owned enterprises”
The Times of India said the US assessment called for three key changes, including making the executive budget proposal publicly available within a reasonable period and disclosing “detailed information about government debt obligations, including liabilities linked to state-owned enterprises.”
It also described the report’s criticism of limited debt disclosure, noting that “only limited information was available on debt obligations, including those of major state-owned enterprises.”
At the same time, the report acknowledged positive elements of Pakistan’s public financial system, including that the supreme audit institution met international standards of independence and published audit reports “in a timely manner and contained substantive findings.”