Pakistan`s National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has approved the Rs 4,224 billion national development budget along with a 4.2 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for the financial year (FY) 2025–26.

The NEC meeting, attended by the four provincial chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan on Wednesday in Islamabad, also announced a GDP growth of 2.7 per cent for the current fiscal year ending on 30 June, reported Radio Pakistan on Wednesday.

According to PTI, addressing the meeting, PM Sharif raised the issue of the abeyance of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) by India, saying, "New Delhi`s threats to deprive Pakistan of water resources are unacceptable, and we will defeat India on this front also."