ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly witnessed heated exchanges on Sunday, as Treasury and opposition MPs clashed, with the government defending the federal budget as a roadmap for economic recovery and the opposition rejecting it as a document dictated by the IMF.
Opening the government’s defense of the budget in the House, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said the budget had brought substantial relief to the workers and should be recognized by the opposition instead of being criticized on political grounds.
Tarar said history would remember the moment when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chose to prioritize the state over politics during one of the country’s toughest economic times.
“There was a time when people were betting on Pakistan’s default. The prime minister stood firm and said he would save the state whatever the political cost,” Tarar said.
He said the government inherited an economy on the brink of collapse and managed to restore stability through difficult decisions.
According to the minister, salaried employees have benefited from significant fiscal relief, with no income tax on salaries up to Rs 50,000 per month and a tax rate of 1 per cent on monthly income between Rs 50,000 and Rs 100,000.
He said the government had responded to requests regarding tax relief and attempted to ease the burden on taxpayers. Tarar also accused the opposition of creating a confrontational atmosphere in the House, recalling scenes from previous years where documents were torn and books burned on the assembly desks.
“The opposition should appreciate positive steps when they are taken,” he said.
Defending the government’s economic policies, Tarar said the reforms introduced in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would bring long-term benefits to citizens and establish a fairer tax system.
“The greatest injustice of the past was that those who paid taxes bore the burden of those who did not,” he said, adding that nearly 3.6 million retailers remained outside the tax net for years.
He highlighted the digitalization of FBR operations and said international organizations, including the Gates Foundation, had supported the reform efforts. He argued that engagement with the International Monetary Fund had helped prevent economic collapse and restore confidence in the economy.
“There was a time when the exchange rate fluctuated wildly and businesses could not open letters of credit. Inflation reached 38 percent. Today, stability has returned and inflation has reduced significantly,” he said.
Tarar also congratulated the state institutions and the economic team led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the improvement in economic indicators. He said foreign exchange reserves had reached $17.2 billion and interest rates had fallen significantly from previous highs.
He claimed that the enforcement measures taken by the Ministry of Finance and the FBR had generated additional revenue of Rs 800 billion in the previous financial year.
He further highlighted relief measures for the housing sector, including tax cuts for small residential plots and houses and continuation of low-cost housing initiatives under which loans of up to Rs 10 million would be provided to deserving families.
The opposition, however, rejected the government’s speech and questioned its claims of economic improvement. Former National Assembly Speaker and PTI leader Asad Qaiser described the budget as an IMF budget and accused the government of distorting facts.
Speaking during the debate, Qaiser said the government’s demands for relief were disconnected from the realities faced by citizens. “Ninety multinational companies have left Pakistan. Unemployment has increased. Tell us what help has actually been given to the people,” he said.
Qaiser argued that despite the government’s repeated claims of economic recovery, ordinary Pakistanis continue to struggle with rising costs and diminishing opportunities. He challenged the Treasury benches to identify a single major sector that would have benefited from significant relief under the Budget.
The PTI leader also rejected allegations that his party acted against national interests and defended PTI’s stand on judicial independence and democratic governance.
“We have always spoken on behalf of Pakistan and presented our point of view honestly,” he said.
Qaiser called for a comparison of borrowing under successive governments and questioned the effectiveness of the government’s economic policies. He highlighted the plight of farmers, saying wheat growers in Punjab had suffered losses amounting to Rs 2.2 trillion due to government policies.
“The farmer has been devastated. The government must explain how much new investment it has brought into the country and what concrete steps it has taken to provide real relief,” he said.
The PTI leader argued that Pakistan’s economic challenges could only be resolved through transparent policymaking and political stability.
The exchange sparked interruptions on both sides, with lawmakers engaging in heated debates over economic performance, taxation and governance.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal also entered the debate and accused the PTI government of undermining democratic norms during its tenure.
Directly responding to Qaiser’s remarks, Ahsan Iqbal said budget discussions should be based on facts rather than political misrepresentations.
He alleged that opposition parliamentarians under the PTI government had struggled to obtain production orders for detained lawmakers and accused the former administration of victimizing political opponents in politically motivated cases.
The minister also highlighted the development projects undertaken in Swabi, Qaiser’s constituency, including the establishment of a university for which he said he had personally laid the foundation stone.
Lahore Press Conference
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, senior PTI leader Sardar Latif Khosa described the financial plan as an IMF-led, elite-centric budget that would increase the hardships of citizens already grappling with inflation and poverty.
Khosa questioned the government’s plan to increase the FBR’s revenue to Rs15,264 billion in the next financial year, arguing that the ambitious target would ultimately result in additional taxes and increased pressure on ordinary Pakistanis.
