The United States highlighted gaps in Pakistan’s fiscal transparency in its 2025 Fiscal Transparency Report. The report said Pakistan’s military and intelligence budgets do not face enough parliamentary or public oversight.
While Pakistan made its enacted budget and year-end reports widely available, the US noted that civilian oversight of defense spending remains limited. The report praised Pakistan for providing detailed information on most planned expenditures and revenues, including natural resource earnings. Audits by the Supreme Audit Institution also ensure data reliability.
The report suggested Pakistan improve transparency by releasing the executive budget proposal on time and sharing detailed information on government debt, including state-owned enterprises.
It also recognized Pakistan’s legal framework for awarding natural resource contracts and licenses. Basic information about these awards, the sovereign wealth fund, and public procurement contracts was publicly available and managed transparently.
The report concluded that Pakistan should subject military and intelligence budgets to civilian or parliamentary oversight and enhance public disclosure of debts and budget proposals.
This assessment comes as US-Pakistan relations improve under President Donald Trump, who offered Pakistan favorable trade treatment and planned a bilateral trade deal.
