PAKISTAN COULD IMPROVE ECONOMIC PROJECTIONS – Iran war pushed inflation to double digits
Pakistan could improve economic projections for 2027 after the end of the Iran war, but it is still too early to revise the budget, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday, hours after the U.S. and Iran signed a deal to end the fighting.
Damaged energy infrastructure meant supply chains would take time to return to normal, after the conflict pushed inflation back into double digits, Aurangzeb said.
Aurangzeb, a former banker, has presented three consecutive budgets, a rare run in Pakistan, where governments often fail to complete terms and finance ministers are frequently replaced.
Pakistan’s FY27 budget, presented in parliament on Friday, targets growth of 4% and inflation of 8.2%. It raised defence spending 18% to 3 trillion Pakistani rupees ($10.8 billion), while relying on higher tax revenue to keep a $7-billion IMF program on track.
Interest has surged in Pakistan’s burgeoning defence industry after last year’s conflict with India, but Aurangzeb said it was too early to project any defence-export upside.
