Islamabad:
The budgetary debate in the Senate began with a dazzling criticism of the head of the opposition Shibli Faraz, who castigated the economic policy of the government, qualifying the budget “controversial by birth” and a reflection of incompetence and non-professionalism.
“This is the fourth budget for this installed diet, and has broken all the old furniture records,” said Faraz, accusing the government of making data and manipulating the figures.
“The figures for this budget seem to be compromised … It is a statistical deception. In the past, the budget figures have never been questioned, but this time doubts are widespread,” he added.
Faraz continued by saying that the current budget had “broken the foundations” of the already fragile economy of Pakistan.
Referring to the controversial elections of February 8, he alleged that, just as the government had manipulated figures, he played the same game with the budget.
He deplored that in Punjab, the farmers were forced to throw wheat on the roads, calling it as a state failure to protect agriculture.
“They destroyed the agricultural sector and stifled the industry. How can growth occur when even letters of credit (LCS) are not open?” He said. “There is no coherent policy for industrial development, only discouragement.”
“This is an anti-PIM budget dictated by the IMF. We have already heard the fantasy of the” South Asian tiger “.” PTI is not an anti-state party, “he said.
“How can a country progress when people can’t even access the Internet?” He denounced the government as a product of “legitimacy of form 47”, saying that real representatives would never have presented such a budget.
Shibli Faraz said that 61 million people fell below the poverty line after 2022 and that unemployment had jumped 14 million. He noted the lack of foreign direct investment and even pointed out that “Afghan currency is now stronger than the Pakistani roupie”.
He criticized the taxation of stationery taxes and questioned the government’s understanding of public priorities, citing the number of children outside the school and deteriorating public services.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb informed the Senate of Finance Committee on the Budget, postponing the accusations of the opposition.
He revealed that the director of India to the IMF board of directors had attempted to delay the approval of the financing of Pakistan, but “despite the Indian objections, $ 700 million was approved”.
Aurangzeb said that Pakistan had met worldwide benchmarks and that IFC had approved additional funding. “We expect policy rates to enter into a single figure this exercise,” he added, saying that tax and structural reforms, especially in public enterprises and energy, showed results.
He recognized that the privatization objectives had not been achieved this year but expressed their optimism for the next exercise. “We have tried to reduce the burden of the salaried class and reduce transaction taxes in the construction sector,” said Aurangzeb.
“On agricultural tax, the IMF accepted our position following the Prime Minister’s directive.”
