ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The federal budget for the 2016-17 financial year is likely to be delayed and presented in second week of June due to illness of Prime Minister Nawaz, sources said on Saturday.
However, sources in the Finance Ministry said that there is no information regarding extension in budget date.
The prime minister is currently in London for medical check-up wherein he has been advised to undergo an open-heart surgery by his doctors. His open-heart surgery will be carried out on May 31.
Meanwhile, the Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday presided over a meeting at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Islamabad to discuss finalization of budgetary proposals.
The meeting also held discussion on matters relating to withholding tax and the future course of action to be adopted in this respect.
During the meeting, the minister expressed the confidence that measures suggested for the upcoming budget would help attain sustained and inclusive growth.
The finance minister emphasized completion of FBR’s budget related exercise at the earliest.
The Chairman FBR Nisar Muhammad Khan while giving an update on the state of revenue collection said that it exhibited a positive trend and target of revenue collection for the current year would be met.
