Former chief minister of Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday strongly opposed the farm tax, saying that it would hit hard 91 percent of the farmers who own less than 12.5 acres of land.
Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the PML-Q district office-bearers in Islamabad, Pervaiz Elahi said that his party would raise the issue in the parliament and resist the proposed tax plan.
The former Chief Minister said that his party has prepared references against the turncoats of his party and would soon file these in the Election Commission of Pakistan. He said that these people promoted politics of what he termed 'lotacracy' and would not succeed with their designs.
The PML leader added that government should not accept the condition of IMF to impose 18 percent farm tax and steps should be taken to subsidise fertiliser and electricity for agro-sector. He lamented that the government did not take the parliament into confidence yet about the actual position regarding the IMF package. The issue, he said, would be discussed in Senate for which the chairman has summoned the session on the special requisition of opposition. He said that the agriculture sector is already suffering from crisis and any other tax would push the 91 percent of small farmers into a new crisis.
Elahi also demanded of the government to implement the resolution passed in the in-camera session of the parliament about the on going operation in the tribal areas.
He, however, expressed his dismay over the government's role, saying that the resolution would have no role as far as the practical situation is concerned. Replying a question about forward bloc in his party, the PML-Q leader said that such elements have no future in politics and they betrayed party merely for the lust of ministries. He added that the party has completed the references against them and would file them in the EC.
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