Budget debate in Sindh Assembly: MQM asks government to tax agriculture income

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Wednesday urged the government to increase the ratio of direct taxes, besides taxing agriculture income. Taking part in the ongoing debate on budget 2012-13 in Sindh Assembly, a lady lawmaker of MQM, Zareen Majeed, observed that the government ignored development of socio-economic sectors in the budget, as poverty, inflation, unemployment, power cuts and violence continued to bedevil the people of the province.
The debate on budget continued for the firth day in the Sindh Assembly, which Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza chaired. A number of legislators set forth proposals to improve the fiscal budget 2012-13 during their speeches. Zareen urged the government to introduce a policy for taxing all income including agriculture income. She observed the social-economic development remained ignored which resulted in rising poverty level to 49 percent.
She said poverty, unemployment, inflation, lawlessness continued to havoc on the province and people have no access to quality education. She said only two percent powerful group in the country have all the privileges. The lady lawmaker asked the government to extend Rs 2.5 billion of subsidy to the farmers so that the key essential grain commodities could become available at lower prices with a view to arrest the food inflation and support the poor.
She also proposed the government to provide Rs 2.5 billion subsidy in the budget on wheat floor so that urban consumers could be able to purchase the commodity at affordable rates. Zareen lauded the government's efforts to introduce a number of schemes in the budget for development of tourism sector, besides proposing setting up of new colleges and universities.
She demanded of the government to introduce uplift package for entire province instead of proposing such packages for few districts so that the development could take place in parts, similarly. Pakistan Muslim League Functional's (PNL-F) legislator, Rana Abdul Sattar quipped that he will not call the just presented fiscal budget 'poor-friendly' prematurely, as he had done last year which proved otherwise.
He called upon the government to monitor the budgetary expenditures as 35 to 40 percent allocation for uplift projects always fall to corruption and the province remains underdeveloped. In a witty speech, which enchanted all but the legislators including Sindh Finance Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Education Minister, Pir Mazharul Haq and others. He asked the government to end the disparity between poor and rich when it comes to access to the healthcare facilities and education.
He was of the view that financial corruption has kept the public life away from improvement, saying the menace left road infrastructure undeveloped. He pointed out that the flood-hit basic infrastructure of different parts of the province continued to cause problems to people.
Abdul Sattar urged religious minorities in the country to stop thinking being the second class citizens, as everyone in Pakistan has equal rights and all people irrespective of their cast, culture and religion are part of the majority. Showing fears, he said even the legislators are panicked because of widespread violence, saying peace in Karachi is essential for the economic growth of Pakistan.
The lawmaker urged the government to give special attention to the country's largest cotton producing area of Sanghar and carry out uplift projects to improve the road infrastructure there. He said roads linking Sanghar to rest of the province are in poor condition and causes problems to travellers.
A minority lawmaker of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Saleem Khursheed Khokhar, lamented that the government ignored giving land to the women of religious minority during its plan of land reforms. He urged the government to implement its budgetary proposal to provide five percent employment quota to minority members. He asked why member of religious minority couldn't become president or prime minister of Pakistan.
He said non-Muslim are the son of soil and are the native inhabitants of Pakistan, saying that the minority students should also be given the right to study religious education at schools like the Muslims studies Islamiat. Khursheed Khokhar demanded of the government to include non-Muslim heroes of Pakistan in the curriculum similarly the Muslims have been made part of academic studies for children.
The minority lawmaker said the government should step up against the forced conversion of non-Muslim girls to Islam. He said non-Muslims are also human and the government should give them equal citizen status in the country. PPP's lawmaker, Syed Bachal Shah, said despite a resolution passed in the assembly to deweaponise Karachi, no affective steps were taken in this regard.
He urged the minority members of the country to consider themselves as part of the majority and they are equal citizens of Pakistan like the Muslims. Another PPP legislator, Imdad Pitafi, said the government should announce an uplift package for development of Tando Allah Yar district. He said the district has been ignored in the past budgets therefore it remained underdeveloped.
He said the government should extend its support to the area where people's income comes through agriculture production, hoping the infrastructure development will boost their agrarian economy. PPP's provincial minister for transport, Akhtar Hussain Jadoon highlighted the budget schemes for uplift of transport system in the province. He called the fiscal budget as 'poor-friendly'.
MQM's lawmaker, Syed Manzar Imam and Muhammad Tahir Qureshi, a lady legislator of PPP, Shama Arif Mithani also spoke on the budget. Lawmakers paid tribute to the ousted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, saying PPP has always hit by conspiracies. They vowed to continue efforts to strengthen democracy in the country, despite political challenges. The house will meet again on Friday morning.