Pakistan’s Federal Budget for 2024-25 has no budgetary allocation for minority welfare schemes. According to budget documents seen by WION, the heading “Minority Welfare Initiatives/Schemes” has been allocated zero budgetary allocation. This is in stark contrast to the previous fiscal year (2023-24), which allocated PKR 100 million for minority welfare and maintained the same figure in the revised budget.
This expulsion comes at a time when Pakistan’s religious minorities – including Christians, Hindus and Sikhs – continue to face numerous challenges, including systematic discrimination, violence and the impact of draconian blasphemy laws. Reports of forced conversions, abductions and attacks on places of worship are distressingly frequent, exacerbating the vulnerability of these communities.
Meanwhile, the budget for religion is increasing. The budget for religion in 2024-25 is PKR 1.861 billion, up from PKR 1.78 billion in the previous fiscal year. The Ministry of Religion and Interreligious Harmony is responsible for managing religious matters, including the welfare of Hajj pilgrims.
Budgetary allocations for the Human Rights Sector have also been slashed. For 2024-25, the sector has been allocated just PKR 104 million, down sharply from PKR 814 million in the previous fiscal year. Notably, the revised budget for 2023-24 shows actual expenditure of just PKR 130 million out of the allocated PKR 814 million, raising questions about utilisation of funds.
Pakistan has proposed a large budget for its armed forces in another notable budget allocation: its defense budget for 2024-25 is proposed at 2.12 trillion rupees, up 17.6% from the previous year. This represents 1.7% of the country’s GDP, highlighting the government’s priority for military spending.
)
