Pakistan, June 4 -- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told leading business figures on Wednesday the government's upcoming budget would include measures aimed at providing relief to the public, as Islamabad seeks to balance economic recovery with fiscal discipline under a $7 billion IMF program.

"Measures to provide relief to the public are being included in the budget," Sharif was quoted as saying in a statement released after consultations with some of the country's most prominent industrialists and business leaders ahead of the federal budget.

The prime minister said Pakistan remained committed to an export-led growth strategy, describing it as the central pillar of the government's economic policy.

"We are moving on the path of export-...