ISLAMABAD: Severely criticising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government for getting budget document prepared by violating rules, the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan on Thursday termed the budget for fiscal year 2024-25 as “economic terrorism” unleashed by “economic hitmen”.
The debate on the budget formally opened in the National Assembly after the Eidul Adha holidays, with its passage planned for 24 June, amid strong protests by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) -backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmakers, who shouted slogans of “no investment possible without Imran Khan occupying the chair of the chief executive of the country”.
The opposition leader in NA who opened the debate with strong criticism of the budget in the presence of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb Khan said that the budget would trigger a new wave of skyrocketing inflation in the country.
His speech was interrupted several times by treasury benches as he lamented alleged interference from the powerful military establishment.
He demanded that the allocation made for the intelligence agencies must be debated in the house committees in order to make sure the “billions of rupees earmarked for sleuths will be spent against the enemies and not purchasing Vigo trucks to kidnap fellow countrymen”.
“This budget is the story which began with vote koizzat do (respect the vote) and ended with boot koizzat do (respect the boot),” Ayub maintained.
“The budget is a complete fraud as there is nothing for the masses. This is highway robbery against the people of Pakistan. This budget is, in actuality, economic terrorism against the people and the future of the country,” he declared.
Ayub alleged that the budget was crafted with the help of “economic hitmen who want to shake the foundation of this country.”
He said that the finance minister is a very professional man but his wings were clipped, adding the government is trying to undermine Aurangzeb which is evident from his removal from the chairmanship of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec).
“Aurangzeb’s heart must have sunk…the Ecnec chairmanship was taken away by the prime minister and his wingman […] entered and his name is Senator Ishaq Dar. Family concern, family business, private limited,” he lamented.
“Aurangzeb is smiling right now but he must be thinking that I will talk to Omar Ayub later because I have said the right things,” he said while pointing towards a smiling Aurangzeb.
“If you look at the people who Aurangzeb is associated with, if you look at their biography, each one of them is a known gangster,” he added.
He said that the country faces Rs8.5 trillion budget deficit as Saudi Arabia, the World Bank and others are unwilling to invest here.
“No new projects are included in this budget…only old ones will continue. Who will cover the 92 per cent deficit,” he added.
Ayub warned that financing 90 per cent of the deficit through banks is akin to giving multiple glucose drips to a diabetic patient, predicting that this approach would lead to uncontrollable inflation and economic instability.
He noted that lending to the private sector has decreased, and demand for cement and other items has plummeted.
Terming the military-backed Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) “a complete eyewash”, Ayub said investors would not trust the economy to invest in a country where there was no rule of law, adding that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had clearly instructed the government to talk to other stakeholders.
The opposition leader also questioned whether the members of the PPP owned the budget, questioning, “Will the PPP vote for it with the government or not as the party symbolically attended the budget session”.
“And if they are not with them then the government would be slaughtered. They do not have it in them to run the government. The budget won’t be passed. An illegal, anti-people budget cannot work,” he added.
He also said that the federal government miserably failed to impose taxes on the elite it promised in the previous budget, adding the biggest element of tax is income tax where they underperformed and are unable to put weight on
the elite.
Ayub added that everyone was saying the budget was “a constrained budget under the long shadow of IMF stipulations,” adding that the government did not leave any room to manoeuvre for itself.
In last two years during PDM-I, PDM-II and caretaker governments, he added, Rs61.574 billion were added to the debt, adding Mohsin Naqvi whose name surfaced in Dubai leaks, should face investigation as to how he amassed billions of rupees as he was not even a tax filer some years ago.
He also severely criticised the Rs15. 62 billion for the Green Pakistan initiative, saying it should instead stop the expansion of Defence Housing Authorities (DHAs) – the largest residential community managed by Pakistan Army – if it is serious about improving the forest cover, preserving wildlife habitats and helping carbon sequestration.
He said that the total tax net revenue stands at Rs10,377 billion, of which Rs9,775 billion will be paid on account of interest rate, Rs1,014 billion has been allocated to cover pension, but the government has no clue from where it will generate the billions of rupees for defence and PSDP.
He regretted that the government has proposed increasing the maximum limit of petroleum development levy (PDL) to Rs80 from the existing Rs60 in the Finance Bill 2025, which is tantamount to robbing the people with both hands.
The opposition leader also came down hard on Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal’s comments about the government intending to keep former PM Imran Khan in jail for its five-year term till 2029, warning that there would be a “reaction” to the remarks.
He also criticised Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for his claims that he was in touch with the then army chief General QamarBajwa since 2019 to oust Imran Khan from power.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that power load-shedding is being carried out on feeders where massive electricity theft is taking place.
Responding to points raised by the opposition leader, he said this load-shedding is not restricted to a particular area, adding “how an uninterrupted power supply is possible on feeders, reporting 80 percent electricity theft”.
Commenting on the performance of the PTI government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he said that they have added over Rs900 billion to the province’s debt.
Asif said that it was the PTI people, who desecrated martyrs’ memorials and attacked military installations in the country.
Regarding inflation, he said the current government inherited a dilapidated economy and we are determined to turn it around and provide relief to the people.
He also questioned about PTI government’s claim of creating 10 million jobs, two million housing units and bringing $100 billion from abroad, adding it was PTI which wrote a letter to the IMF, but now acting as if they did nothing.
Speaking on the occasion, MNA Aslam Ghumman of SIC-backed PTI said that strict action should be taken against those responsible for the import of wheat.
He said youth should be equipped with the necessary skills to meet market demand.
He said agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and the country cannot progress without promoting this sector.
Those who spoke on the occasion included Rai Hasan Nawaz, Mubeen Arif and Naseem Ali Shah.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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