Saudi delegation arrives in Pakistan to review Makkah Route Initiative arrangements

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Monday that the Finance Division has allocated Rs1 trillion ($3.5 billion) for development projects in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

The 2025–26 budget is expected to be presented by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in Pakistan’s lower house of parliament on June 10, following the Eid Al-Adha holidays, after the government postponed an earlier date of June 2.

Providing the breakdown $3.5 billion development budget, Iqbal said Rs664 billion ($2.3 billion) would be allocated to infrastructure projects, including energy, water, transport, physical planning and housing.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed that Rs120 billion ($426.7 million) be allocated for N25 Chaman-Quetta-Karachi Expressway,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad.

“Rs150 billion ($533.3 million) are for social sectors, special areas, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, have been allocated Rs63 billion ($223.9 million), and merged [tribal] districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been allocated Rs70 billion ($248.4 million).”

Similarly, Rs53 billion ($188.3 million) have been earmarked for science and information technology, Rs9 billion ($32.2 million) for governance and reform projects, and Rs11 billion ($39.1 million) for production sectors, according to the minister.

“The majority [of allocation] is for water, power and highway sector,” he added.

Late last month, Iqbal said Pakistan’s defense spending would be hiked in the upcoming budget as the military would “certainly require” more financial resources to defend the country against India. But neither Iqbal nor any other government official has so far shared any figures. Pakistan’s defense budget currently stands at Rs2.122 trillion ($7.53 billion).

The remarks came days after Pakistan and India attacked each other with missiles, drones and artillery in their worst conflict in decades that killed around 70 people on both sides. The two nations agreed to a ceasefire on May 10 after four days of hostilities sparked by a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in April.

Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.5% in May, though the country’s macroeconomic outlook has improved in recent months, supported by a stronger current account balance, increased remittances and declining inflation.

Authorities remain cautious as they aim to build on recent economic stabilization, guide the country toward gradual growth, and reaffirm their commitment to ongoing economic reforms.

ISLAMABAD: Air Sial, a Pakistani private airline, has launched its first flight to the United Arab Emirates, it said on Monday, in a significant development for the Pakistani aviation industry.

Inaugurated in 2020 by the Sialkot Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the airline initially aimed to improve air travel to and from Pakistan’s Sialkot city, a major industrial hub in the eastern Punjab province.
Over the years, Air Sial has expanded its operations not just countrywide, but to countries in the Gulf region and uses a fleet of modern Airbus A320 aircraft.

“Pakistan Airports Authority successfully facilitated and supervised the launch of Air Sial’s inaugural international flight (PF784) from Islamabad International Airport to Dubai,” Air Sial said on Monday, adding the flight departed around 11:34am with 137 passengers aboard.

Air Sial’s domestic network includes major cities like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, Quetta and Multan.

The airline entered the international market in March 2023 with the launch of its inaugural flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It also flies to Riyadh, Madinah and Dammam.

Air Sial extended its international reach the same year in June by launching direct flights from Pakistan to Oman.

Late last month, the state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) also resumed direct flights between Dubai and Pakistan’s mountainous Skardu district in a bid to boost tourism.