Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) on Tuesday blamed the government for not disclosing the actual figures of supplementary grants in the budget documents saying the figures were fudge.
Addressing a joint press conference, PML-N senior leaders including former Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, former Chairman Privatisation Commission and MNA Khawaja Asif, and party's central Secretary Information Ahsan Iqbal termed the budget a part of pre-election campaign, which had nothing to do with the relief to the common man.
They alleged that the figures provided by the government would again prove to be fudged and exaggerated like the previous.
The PML leaders highlighted that Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) dropped by 800 points within two days because of the government's unfavourable policies introduced in the budget.
Ishaq Dar contended that the supplementary grants which according to him concealed, because the government was unable to present the reasons of their utilisation.
He alleged that the supplementary grants had been illogically spent on the luxurious expenses of the high ups during last year and there was no justification with the government to disclose the correct figure.
Dar said that the budget was an expansionary one and he had foreseen that there would be an adversely impact on the overall economy in the long run.
He further said the government's figure of 4.2 percent fiscal deficit was also wrong and it would increase this figure in revision as it did last year.
According to his calculation, an Rs 131 billion fiscal deficit was higher than the government's figure. PML leader also disagreed with the government's claims of reducing unemployment saying that almost 0.29 million jobless youth had added during the last seven years of Musharraf's tenure.
He pointed out that it was the first ever budget where details of taxes were not presented in the House.
The former Finance Minister said that despite all the tall claims of the present government about breaking the Kashkol (begging bowl), at least dollars six billion loans had been borrowed from foreign institutions, whereas the internal debt also increased by Rs 814 billion during the last six years.
The government gave gift of unprecedented inflation to the masses while the Utility Stores cater to only five to ten percent of the country's population, he added.
Quoting the government's statistical figures, he said that Whole Sales Prices Index (WPI) increased by 475 percent while Sensitive Price Index increased by 275 percent during the last seven years.
Dar also observed the 15 percent increase in the government employees basic salaries as insufficient adding that at least 25 percent uniform increment should have been granted to the public servant on their gross salaries.
Our government had substantially raised the salaries of BPS-17 and above by 25 percent and below by 20 percent in its last budget, he claimed.
Tax procedure on the salaried class is also pro-rich and poor would again be badly trapped in the tax net, he said adding that according to the new tax system the high salaried class who for instance, previously used to pay Rs 2.3 million as taxes would now pay only 1.7 million, Dar observed.
PML leader also highlighted that the Cabinet Division expenses increased to over Rs one billion, Prime Minster House to over Rs 555 million from previously Rs 234 million, whereas defence increased by more than Rs 17 billion and expenses in the Interior Ministry budget reached to over Rs one billion, he added.
Khawaja Asif said that PML supports privatisation process but it rejects the present government's privatisation policy.
He criticised that all the important national assets were sold in haste at throwaway prices and its proceeds were being used to finance the fiscal deficit.
He further said that Nawaz League would re-investigate the non-transparent privatisation transactions of Habib Bank, PTCL, Pakistan Steel Mills and others.
Comments
Comments are closed.