The federal government has set up a high-level committee to review key budgetary matters and submit recommendations to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ahead of the FY2026–27 federal budget.
A major focus will be the Petroleum Division’s cross-subsidy mechanism, along with a proposal to recover around Rs. 72 billion in alleged windfall gains from oil marketing companies.
According to a notification from the Ministry of Finance, the panel has been formed on the Prime Minister’s directives and will be led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
The committee includes the ministers for economic affairs, planning, and law, as well as PMDU Chief Technical Advisor Musharraf Rasool and senior finance officials.
Its mandate covers reviewing the financial and operational needs of key ministries, including commerce, power, privatization, and IT, and evaluating their performance for proposed FY27 Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocations based on efficiency, strategic importance, and national priorities.
It will also examine Power Division-related international litigation and suggest spending priorities for cases deemed likely to succeed.
In addition, the panel is tasked with proposing a legal framework to allow revenue-generating ministries and divisions to retain part of their earnings for operational and development use.
Other responsibilities include reviewing the utilization of Climate Support Levy funds for startups under the Green Initiative Program, and assessing salary rationalization for Tenure Track System faculty.
The government has also instructed all ministries and divisions to submit progress reports on rightsizing measures implemented during FY26, along with new proposals aimed at further reducing public expenditure in the next fiscal year.
