Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, Murad Ali Shah provided an outline of the budget, while also addressing national, regional, and global issues.

At the outset of his conference, Shah strongly condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran, saying: “Israel has committed open state terrorism, which I condemn in the strongest terms. We have a historical relationship with Iran, and we stand with them in this difficult time”.

He announced that the Sindh Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution against Israeli attacks.

Criticising the opposition, he remarked that they should have united on a humanitarian issue, but instead attempted to drown out the resolution.

“I do not know what agenda they are pursuing”, the chief minister added.

Expressing frustration with the federal government, Shah disclosed that the Sindh government was informed just one day before the budget announcement that it would receive Rs105 billion less than expected.

The chief minister noted that the Sindh government prepared the budget in line with IMF conditions, which necessitate significant savings and less spending.

Shah said the total volume of the budget is Rs3.45 trillion which included a development budget of Rs1 trillion.

Of this, Rs590 billion will be allocated to development schemes, with plans to complete 1,460 projects.

Additionally, Rs132 billion have been earmarked for local governments, Rs22.5 billion for agriculture, and Rs59.6 billion for transportation.

Shah also revealed that salaries for employees in grades 1 to 16 will be raised by 12%, and for grades 17 to 22 by 10%, with a total of Rs1.1 trillion set aside for salaries and pensions.

Significant increases had been made in the education, health, energy, and interior sectors, with an 18% increase for education, 11% for health, and 16.5% for energy, he added.

Murad Ali Shah emphasized that despite challenges, the government has boosted developmental spending.