Opposition unrelenting in protest against ‘PIA sell-off’

Stages walkout on privatisation ordinance and Rs40b mini-budget

ISLAMABAD:

For the second day running, opposition lawmakers boycotted the National Assembly proceedings on Tuesday in protest at the ‘restructuring’ of PIA and new tax measures introduced by the government. The lower house of parliament, however, continued the session despite the thin attendance and the apparent lack of interest from the treasury benches.

Last week the government promulgated an ordinance for ‘restructuring’ the ailing national flag carrier. The government also has imposed new taxes to collect additional Rs40 billion in an effort to meet revenue targets set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).



Speaking on a point of order, opposition leader Khursheed Shah demanded the government rescind both the decisions. These policies, he claimed, have been creating rifts between the Centre and the provinces and should be revisited at the earliest.

“When we [PPP] were in power, foreign loans amounted to about Rs16 trillion. Now they have reached Rs20 trillion,” he said. “The government should stop spending billions on futile development projects like Metro buses.”

Shah said the government should inform the public about the source of funding for Metro bus projects. “The government is collecting billions of rupees in taxes but not giving the share of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh,” he said. “This is creating misunderstandings between the Centre and the provinces.”

The opposition leader said instead of seeking loans from the IMF and World Bank, the government should focus on strengthening the economy through indigenous resources.



About the PIA ordinance, he said its promulgation had given rise to speculations the government was planning to privatise PIA. “Why is the government not telling the people the truth about the economic conditions?” Shah questioned, urging the government to come clean on privatising the national airlines. He believed if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to the house, all issues could be sorted out.

About the mini-budget, Aftab Ahmad Sherpao termed the decision an ‘irresponsible’ one. “The new taxes will directly affect the poor people,” he added.



The opposition parties’ parliamentary heads later gathered in the speaker’s chamber to find out a solution with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The closed-door huddle, however, remained inconclusive.

Talking to the media outside the Parliament House, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the government had made the National Assembly irrelevant by promulgating the ordinance and slapping new taxes without taking parliamentarians into confidence.

“The government should inform us about the urgency of PIA’s privatisation and slapping new taxes on people,” he said.

He said the government’s economic policies had failed to bring prosperity to the country. The ruling party enjoys majority in the assembly and the Senate and can easily get the new legislation and taxes approved. “It is the government’s prerogative to impose new taxes but parliament must be taken into confidence.”

Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Iqbal Muhammad Khan, Pakistan Awami Muslim League Chairman Sheikh Rashid and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Sahibzada Tariqullah also spoke against the privatisation of PIA and imposition of new taxes.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2015.