LAHORE: The Punjab provincial government is prepared to extend financial relief to the federal government, according to sources in the provincial assembly.
Officials said the Punjab government may provide up to 570 billion rupees in financial relief to help Islamabad reduce its fiscal deficit and meet International Monetary Fund targets.
They added that under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, Punjab is expected to receive more than 3.793 trillion rupees from the divisible pool of revenues.
Meanwhile, the provincial government has finalized the outline of its budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year, with the total volume set at 5.131 trillion rupees, sources said.
No official statement has yet been issued by the Punjab government confirming the reported financial arrangement.
On the other hand, Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said the province will not compromise on its share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award and will strongly defend its constitutional rights if any reduction is made.
Addressing a pre-budget roundtable conference in Lahore, he said Punjab is currently running more than 100 major development programs and requires adequate financial resources to sustain them.
He warned that if Punjab’s share in the NFC award is reduced, the province would “defend its rights,” adding that Punjab cannot transfer or surrender its financial resources under any circumstances.
The finance minister said the provincial government is working on establishing a unified tax collection system under one roof to improve efficiency and revenue collection. He added that efforts are also underway to promote agriculture and industry, along with the preparation of a major industrial package expected to involve billions of rupees over the next three years.
He said the government aims to reduce taxes rather than introduce new ones.
Maryam Nawaz, he said, is overseeing governance reforms and has resumed work after health improvement.
Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said Punjab has already presented two budgets and will now present its third budget on June 16.