Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will not allow the PPP-led coalition government to play havoc with the country and will make all out efforts to block the passage of Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) Bill 2010 in the National Assembly, said senior leader PML-N Mohammad Pervaiz Malik on Monday.
Malik further said that the government was creating a lot of problems for the countrymen through its anti-people policies. Censuring the allies of PPP government and Q-League, Malik said that allies of the government and Q-League were making fun of Pakistani nation.
He said that the PML-N took strong stand on the issue of RGST but all others, though verbally criticised the RGST but actually helped the PPP government to get this bill passed by walking out just before the voting on RGST. Expressing surprise and anguish over SBP decision to further enhance the discount rate from 13.5% to 14%, the PML-N leader said the decision would hit the overall economy, as availability of equity to the business community has been made dearer with one stroke of the pen. He said, "The PML-N considers that 50 basis points increase in discount rate would jack up the cost of doing business that would ultimately hit the economic growth."
He was of the view that the SBP's decision would not help curtail fiscal deficit or overcoming inflation, as it had not served the purpose in the past rather it would create troubles for the new investors through further hike in inflation. The PML-N leader alleged that flawed policies of the present regime were trembling people's confidence on democratic system. "The PPP government has failed to show its commitment in resolving the problems faced by the Pakistani nation," he said.
Malik said the worsening security situation and deepening financial crisis were continuing to cause panic in the people. He held the present regime responsible for deteriorating law and order situation. He said that target killings in Karachi had devastated the economic activities throughout the country but the government seems careless and pursuing its own interests.
The PML-N leader said that troubles of Pakistan were not limited to the suicide bombing and struggling economy. He said that amid rising inflation, higher prices of food items, shortage of electricity and natural gas not only harming the common man but also hampering industrial activities. He said that industrialists staging protests against discrimination with Punjab and massive prolonged loadshedding but those who were at the helm of affairs were not ready to give any consideration.
He said that in the past during PML-N government, investors from all over the world were keen to invest in Pakistan. They were desired to initiate joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts in the fields of energy, banking, telecom and many others, he added. He said that the investment of billions of dollars was planned but the democratic system was abolished. He said it was matter of concern that the PPP government was not only continuing the policies of a dictator but putting more fuel to the fire.
While strongly assailing the PPP leadership for its failures to overcome the issues being faced by the country and its people, Malik said that bad governance of PPP government was bringing a bad name to the democratic system and since the PPP had not delivered people have started saying that dictatorial era was better than the present democratic system. He said dictatorship could never be better than democracy, but failures of the present government had made the dictatorial era look better.
Malik said that PML-N would leave no stone unturned to secure the rights of Pakistani people and would strongly oppose all anti-people acts of the present government. He urged the PPP allies to show the Pakistani nation agenda on the basis of which they were part of the coalition, otherwise they would not be part of PPP in their wrongdoings, as nation would not forgive them.