ISLAMABAD: Opposition leaders on Sunday rejected the federal budget, accusing the government of ignoring economic realities, burdening citizens with taxes and failing to address rising poverty.
“They [rulers] are deceiving themselves,” Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said while addressing a budget seminar in Islamabad, criticising the government’s claim that a person earning Rs280 a day was not below the poverty line.
Abbas said the rulers were “not ready to see facts with their own eyes” and alleged that the government had failed to provide services to the people.
“The people of Pakistan are being crushed in the mill of poverty,” he said, adding that prices of food items were “touching the sky”.
Comparing the country’s finances to a household budget, the opposition leader said that when a family’s expenses exceeded its income, it came under the burden of debt and then started selling its assets.
“Pakistan’s income is less than its expenses,” he said, adding that no serious effort had been made to reduce expenses and increase income.
Abbas also warned that if the next elections were held under the same system, the results would be “the worst”.
‘Budget cannot succeed without solving public problems’
Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the rise in poverty was proof of the failure of economic policies.
“The real measure of economic growth is improvement in people’s lives,” he said, adding that life had become difficult for low-income groups.
Khokhar said a tax system could not be effective without state services, stressing that citizens must be provided with facilities if taxes were being collected from them.
“Economic success is meaningless if poverty is not reduced,” he said, adding that the budget could not succeed without solving public problems.
He said the government had failed to reduce its own expenses, while heavy taxes continued to be imposed despite a lack of services.
‘Budget is sign of economic crisis’
PTI senior leader Salman Akram Raja described the budget as an “economic emergency” for Pakistan, saying the country’s economy was trapped in a severe crisis and debt burden.
He said claims of economic development were contrary to reality, while the increase in loans posed a major threat to the country’s future.
“The federal government is trapped in interest payments,” he said, adding that running the system through loans was not a sustainable solution.
Raja said poverty was increasing instead of declining, while Pakistan was far behind in spending on health and education.
“Investment in human development is necessary for competing globally,” he said, adding that fundamental changes were needed to address the economic crisis.
‘No serious effort to cut expenses’
Former prime minister and Awam Pakistan Party leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the last four years had been the worst for Pakistan’s economy.
He said government expenditure had become larger than development spending, while pension expenses had exceeded the cost of running the government.
“Interest and debt payments have started exceeding income,” Abbasi said, adding that the country’s debt was increasing every year and the crisis was becoming more serious.
He said additional taxes had placed a further financial burden on the people, while the government was taking new loans to meet its expenses.
Abbasi said budget relief claims appeared far from reality, adding that ordinary Pakistanis were bearing the burden of indirect taxes.
He also called for basic reforms in the system, saying investment would not come without rule of law, political stability and policy continuity.
‘Budget only changes numbers’
Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said Pakistan had a “cruel tax system” and claimed that the common man was paying 60% taxes.
“The people get no relief in the budget; only numbers are changed,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad.
Hafiz Naeem demanded the abolition of the petroleum levy and called for ending capacity charges of independent power producers.
He also said funds for MNAs in the Public Sector Development Programme should be abolished and official vehicles should not be above 1300cc.
“The budget has merely become the name of moving numbers up and down,” he said, adding that electricity, petrol and gas prices directly affected the public.
He said the government itself admitted pressure from the IMF, while large sums had been kept in the budget to hide incompetence.
Govt terms budget ‘relief-oriented’
Separately speaking during the National Assembly Session, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar termed the budget for the next financial year a “relief-oriented” budget that caters to the demands of all segments of society.”
He said that the budget has received a positive response from various quarters, including economists and opinion makers. He said the government welcomes constructive proposals from the opposition but emphasised that the positive measures introduced in the budget should also be acknowledged by members of the opposition.
Tarar said that substantial relief has been given to the salaried class in the budget, adding that this relief is for the entire salaried class. He pointed out that there is no tax on those earning up to Rs50,000, while those earning between Rs50,000 and Rs100,000 per month are subject to a tax rate of only one percent.
The information minister said that the country has achieved macroeconomic stability as a result of the consistent efforts of the present government. He also credited the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, for his contributions towards economic stability.
Expressing confidence in the country’s economic outlook, he said Pakistan’s economy is now firmly on the path of growth.
Referring to reforms in the FBR, Tarar said such a system has been introduced under which taxpayers will no longer bear the burden of those who do not pay taxes.
