Islamabad: The National Assembly has approved 88 demands for grants worth more than Rs43.85 trillion for various ministries and divisions during the budget session, while 90 opposition cut motions were rejected by a majority vote.
The budget session continued on Sunday under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. Lawmakers approved expenditures for several ministries and government departments. During the proceedings, the opposition proposed a number of spending cuts, but all cut motions were voted down by the House.
Among the approved allocations were Rs30.69 trillion for defense and defense production, Rs125.72 billion for communications, Rs192.70 billion for education, and more than Rs107.32 billion for water resources. Funding was also approved for foreign affairs, health, information technology, planning, industries and production, commerce, information and broadcasting, and law and justice.
The National Assembly further approved grants for railways, science and technology, economic affairs, maritime affairs, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan affairs, overseas Pakistanis, religious affairs, and parliamentary affairs. Allocations for the National Assembly and the Senate were also endorsed.
Notably, the opposition did not submit any cut motion against the defense budget. At the conclusion of the session, the National Assembly was adjourned until 11:00 a.m. on Monday.