Opposition ‘to resist passage of budget’

Sherry Rehman says budget is based on borrowing, billionaires and barbadi

ISLAMABAD : Rejecting the proposed budget for the next financial year as unconstitutional, the opposition in the upper house of parliament has announced it will resist the outgoing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government’s sixth budget that it says may put the country’s future at stake.

“We do not accept this ill-advised budget. We will protest inside and outside parliament,” said the Leader of Opposition in Senate Sherry Rehman in her opening speech on the floor of the house on Monday.

“The future of Pakistan is at risk. This is a lame duck budget by a lame duck government. This is pre-poll rigging through and through. The government does not have a mandate to present the 6th budget. This is a borrowing, billionaires and barbadi [disaster] budget,” she said, summing up the ‘3Bs’ budget.



Discussing the country’s economic situation, Rehman said the textile industry that contributes 57% to the country’s exports has lost its global textile share by 23%. One hundred and fifty (150) mills have closed down. This is alarming considering that we are the 5th largest cotton producer in the world, said the senator.

“Our circular debt has reached a whopping Rs1 trillion. We are the 7th most stressed water nation and only Rs38 billion have been allocated for water without any details.”

“We have a public debt of Rs22 trillion, which was Rs13 trillion in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government’s tenure, whereas external debt is projected to soar to Rs103 billon by next year,” she said.

The opposition leader said Pakistan’s entire budget is based on borrowing to pay back more loans. She asked why the government does not call a financial emergency, adding that the next government will face a nightmare of repayments and no revenue stream.

“The World Bank says Pakistan needs to raise $17 billion to cover for its debt repayments and current account deficit. How will any of this be done and achieved under this paralysed economy?” she asked.

Rehman said $40 billion was borrowed in the span of four years.

“We are taking more debt to pay back debt. The principal on the Eurobond has to be retired in July 2018. There is no revenue stream to meet these targets and expenditures. As a result, more Eurobond will be raised and more loans will be taken from China,” she added.



Talking about the budget she said it offers 30% tax concessions to billionaires but nothing to the poor. The government has provided no relief for the masses. Instead, the burden remains on the poor with the petroleum tax they are quietly introducing.

Quite frankly, the government has dropped a petrol bomb on the people of Pakistan. Due to this, there will be a 200% increase in petrol prices, Rehman added.

The senator asked why the government has given tax concession to imported LNG and none to Pakistani gas. “The Qatar LNG deal is already mired in controversy. To this day, we don’t know what is under the black ink used to block transparency on the contract with Qatar Gas,” Rehman said.

Rehman said the National Finance Commission (NFC) award has not been given in the last five years. How can they determine where the federal slew of consolidated indirect taxes like the economic fund will go without the NFC award? This budget is unconstitutional, she added.



She said she was extremely shocked that 98 lakhs per day had been allocated for the President House. “I remember that in the PPP’s time, it was six lakhs per day and even that worried President Zardari, who paid for all tea expenditures from his personal account.”

The senator said the opposition is working in line with the Constitution of Pakistan. This budget, she added, is unconstitutional, politically and morally wrong.

Dismissing the opposition’s objections over budget, special assistant to prime minister on revenue Senator Haroon Akhter said there is no justification for financial emergency. “The economic situation is much better now, and the government is leaving double revenues than what it had inherited,” he said.