Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Thursday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has not made its position clear on possible agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but the PPP-P can safely predict that there will be another U-turn on it.
"In fact, we propose that the PTI government should set up a ministry of U-turns. There are so many U-turns that it needs a full block in the Cabinet Division - U Block - to handle their U-turns," PPP-P Spokesperson Dr Nafisa Shah expressed these views while addressing a news conference.
She said that the balance of payment crisis has not yet been responded with a policy statement. She said that the PTI has lived up to its reputation of making U-turns at every step and reneging on its promises, whether it is economic pledges, political positions, governance reforms, or foreign policy commitments. The PPP-P spokesperson said that one minister gives one statement while another makes a U-turn on that statement. She said that the minister of information who has virtually become 'minister for abuses and apologies' says one thing one day only to be contradicted by his own cabinet colleague the next day. She added that the minister for planning says one thing but minister for parliamentary affairs says yet another. She further said that the minister of petroleum says one thing on one day and another on the next.
"This government is truly a comedy of errors. In the first fifty days of the government, the only direction we see is the ubiquitous U-turn," she said. About the mini-budget, Dr Nafisa Shah said that despite the fuss three months back, Finance Minister Asad Umar passed PML-N's budget except a little tinkering in the Finance Bill. The taxation structure of PML-N of indirect taxes in the form of withholding taxes remains intact, she said.
About Saudi Arabia and CPEC, she said, "We still do not have a detailed briefing on the Prime Minister's maiden visit to Saudi Arabia. The only information that we have is a u-turn." She added that Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry's statement of Saudi Arabia being the third partner in CPEC was contradicted by their planning and development minister.
She said that the adviser for commerce said that CPEC projects will be halted but then there was a U-turn. The government retracted and said they are committed to CPEC, she added.
About oil on deferred payment, the PPP-P spokesperson said that the petroleum minister went back on his own words; first he said Pakistan will get oil on deferred payments, then retracting on his statement he said the country will not get oil on deferred payments. About gas and electricity tariffs, Dr Nafisa Shah said that there were reports of increase in gas tariffs, later the minister for information denied it and then they were increased. She said that one day the prices are raised but on the second they are reduced. "But we predict a U turn here as well," she said.
She said that earlier the government said that it is leasing out the Radio Pakistan building, and on the next day it took a U-turn. The PPP-P spokesperson said that fifty days of the government are going to be over on Friday (today) but nothing has been achieved, she said. She said that the PTI government promised that they would reform the governance but except forming a dozen task forces and holding one meeting on local government in Punjab, there is no clear idea how this will be done.
In fact the only two concrete governance steps were auction of rundown cars an 8 buffaloes and export of 150 falcons in violation of its own laws, she claimed. She said that the PTI government promised a push towards Fata integration, legislation and launching of a development plan there. These are nowhere in site, she said. She said that the government promised the South Punjab Taskforce but no meeting has been called so far as both ministers are busy with everything except South Punjab.
She said that the government promised a transformative Karachi package but the commitment to Karachi could be seen from the fact that it took three weeks for the Prime Minister to visit Karachi. The PPP-P member of the National Assembly said that the new finance minister had promised 10 million jobs and 5,000,000 houses but he did not take any steps in this regard.
About agricultural reforms and water conservation, she said that PTI promised an agriculture emergency, increased access to subsidized finance, and plans to increase milk and meat production. But the question is where the minister for food security is, she said. She said that Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is only revolutionary program in social service but it does not even have a chairperson so far.
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