Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, updates from Gaza and the Nato Summit. Locally,  An update on all four provincial budgets for 2025–26.

☕ Grab your chaye, let’s go.

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Around The World

Update from Gaza. Fourteen people were killed this morning in Israeli attacks on Gaza, bringing the death toll in the enclave to more than 90 over the past 24 hours. The death toll includes aid seekers. More than 500 aid seekers have been killed since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over aid distribution. GHF’s process of providing food to starving Palestinians has been condemned as a “death trap” by UN and relief agency officials.

Pumping money. NATO allies have agreed to massively boost military spending while affirming their “ironclad commitment” to collective defence. Leaders pledged to allocate up to 5% of their national GDP to defence and related sectors by 2035, for a “quantum leap” in collective security. Trump, who has repeatedly pushed for a higher NATO defence spending commitment, took credit for the shift.

Slovakia, Belgium, and Spain objected to the number and proclaimed that contributing 5% would be difficult. French President Emmanuel Macron took issue with Trump's trade tariff confrontation with the European Union and called for a deal.  Here are some other takeaways from the summit.

Pakistan

Important math. All four provinces have now passed their budgets for 2025–26, with a mix of cooperation and contention. 

• The Sindh Assembly passed its Rs. 3.45tn budget for 2025–26 with rare government-opposition harmony, marking a 12.9% rise in spending. CM Murad Ali Shah has called it a pro-growth, pro-people budget. Key relief measures include tax cuts for farmers, transporters, and small businesses, along with the abolition of entertainment duties and reduced fees on public services.

• The Punjab Assembly approved over Rs . 636.6bn in budget grants for 2025–26, focusing on police, health, education, and public health. (The total budget outlay for Punjab for FY 2025–26 is Rs. 5.4tn) Despite a delayed and protest-filled session, the finance minister called it a “people-friendly” and “progressive” budget, noting a major boost in development spending to Rs. 1,240bn. Opposition members raised concerns over crime and agriculture, but their cut motions were rejected.

• The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly rushed through a Rs. 2.12tn budget for 2025-26 early this week amid an opposition boycott. Today, the assembly passed a Rs. 240bn supplementary budget without debate, sparking opposition outrage. Lawmakers slammed power cuts, a surprise 10% sales tax in ex-FATA/Malakand, and ballooning discretionary funds. Protests over low public sector pay and worsening law and order also dominated the session, as critics questioned the government’s claims of a “surplus” budget while taking hefty loans.

• The Balochistan Assembly unanimously passed a Rs. 896bn budget for 2025-26 despite 11 opposition cut motions, most of which were rejected. It includes a Rs. 75bn reform boost focused on governance, security, and public services. Highlights: 1,200 new schools, reopening 164 health centers, a Safe City Project, solar power in Chagai, and a new dam in Washuk. 

Taxed & tricked. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) faced strong criticism in the National Assembly over alleged collusion with smugglers and tax evaders, as the House approved demands for grants worth Rs. 4.8tn for key ministries. Opposition leaders accused the FBR of corruption, enabling Rs. 550bn in annual oil smuggling from Iran, and facilitating tax fraud, while also rejecting the government’s economic claims and highlighting rising poverty, inflation, and national debt. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb defended the budget, citing macroeconomic improvements like currency stability and reduced inflation, while promising digitization to curb corruption.

What Else Is Happening?

🧑‍🚀India, Poland, and Hungary launched their first astronauts in more than 40 years Wednesday, sending them on a private flight to the International Space Station. The three countries shared the tab for the two-week mission, which costs more than $65 million per customer.

🥭Pakistan aims to export 125,000 tons of mangoes this season—25% more than last year—targeting $100 million in revenue, primarily from Middle Eastern markets, despite facing a projected 25% decline in total production due to climate change

😰Climate psychologists say that the emotional toll of climate change and anxiety over what the future holds are broad-ranging, especially for young people. Here are a few ways they suggest to manage this stress.

🤖XBOW announced that its autonomous AI became the first to surpass all humans on the HackerOne platform while announcing a new $75M Series B funding round.