New Delhi/Chandigarh, Jan. 11 -- Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday urged the Union government to extend immediate fiscal assistance and announce a special economic package for Punjab, stressing that the state has endured an extraordinarily difficult year marked first by heightened India-Pakistan border tensions and then by the worst floods witnessed in decades in 2025.

During a pre-budget meeting with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi, Cheema submitted a detailed memorandum laying out Punjab's key financial requirements and policy demands for the Union Budget 2026-27.

Cheema said that Punjab suffered severe economic disruption due to prolonged tensions along the international border, followed immediat...