The government on Friday announced an allocation of Rs1 billion ($3.5 million) for the health insurance of working journalists in the new budget, confirmed the information minister in a Twitter post.
Pakistan’s finance minister Ishaq Dar presented the fiscal plan for the cash-strapped economy with a total outlay of Rs14.46 trillion ($50.4 billion), targeting a 6.5 percent fiscal deficit and allocating around 50 percent to interest payments.
“Delighted to announce that an allocation has been made in the budget for the health insurance of working journalists,” information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced in a Twitter post.
“For the first time ever, Rs 1 billion has been allocated [for this purpose] in the budget for FY 2023-24.”
Aurangzeb thanked Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and finance minister Dar for taking this “very important measure,” adding it was her goal to arrange this facility for media people, especially in the current economic circumstances.
