The IDSC, in a statement Sunday, said it had contacted the Finance Ministry to verify the news.

Claims of reduced allocations to the health and education sectors in the 2021-2022 state budget are baseless, the Ministry stressed.

To the contrary, allocations for the two sectors have increased above constitutional entitlements in the new state budget, the Ministry made it clear to the IDSC.

Allotments for the health sector have risen by 6.6 percent to reach 275.6 billion pounds in 2021-2022, while the education sector got a 6.8-percent increase in budget allocations to 388.2 billion pounds, the Ministry explained.

The Finance Ministry urged all media outlets to verify any information from official sources to avoid confusion of public opinion.