The most worrying sign for the government was that one of its closest allies, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), announced in clear terms in the lower house it doesn’t agree with several steps proposed in the budget.
Members from the party—a coalition partner of the PPP at the centre and in Sindh—refused to back the introduction of the proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) regime unless the agriculture sector is taxed.
But the demand for taxing agriculture that was first floated on Tuesday apparently divided the members across their urban and feudal backgrounds with some of them from Punjab opposing the proposal.
Jahangir Tareen, a PML-Q leader from southern Punjab, was quick to contradict MQM parliamentary leader Dr Farooq Sattar that the key sector that contributes most to the national economy was not taxed at all.
“It is not true that the agriculturists are not paying any tax…there are levies on the sector for the past eight years,” Tareen responded to Sattar’s suggestion.
The hike in allocations for the presidential palace and the secretariat of the prime minister also came under fire by almost all speakers for the day.
The harshest of comment on these proposals came from Marvi Memon, the member from the opposition PML-Q, who called them “uncalled for” and “shameful”.
Her speech was interrupted several times by the government loyalists.
Chaudhry Pervez Elahi of the PML-Q said that problems being faced by the economy have been highlighted in the budget but no solution has been proposed. He was of the view that the new budget sets no direction for the government to get rid of the IMF from which Pakistan is seeking a multibillion dollar loan.
Farooq Sattar of the MQM described the budget as a traditional document which does not provide any guideline to overcome poverty, hunger and unemployment.
He said it is unfortunate that the common man has been ignored in this budget.
Jahangir Tareen claimed that VAT would yield Rs80 billion while stopping Sales Tax evasion could give the state coffers Rs 125 billion.
In the upper house of parliament, Senators from Balochistan and Sindh raised the issue of lack of relief efforts for the cyclone-stricken people of the coastal areas.
Jan Jamali raised a point of order that on Wednesday the report on relief efforts was meant to be presented before the house but it was not.
Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri said the government had allocated Rs500 million for relief activity. But Sabir Baloch challenged the claim, saying he belonged to Gwadar and not a single rupee had reached the cyclone-affected port town.
Kalsoom Parveen agreed with Baloch. Ismail Buledi said the losses were in the range of Rs7 to Rs8 billion while the government has only allocated Rs 500 million. He staged a token walkout in protest.
Simi Siddiqui said that the cyclone had also wreaked havoc in the coastal areas of Sindh where people are living in miserable conditions in the so-called relief camps. She urged the government to do something about the situation.
The budget debate was opened by Babar Ghauri. He said the budget reflects wishes of the finance ministry bureaucracy not of the poor people of Pakistan. He said the bureaucrats do not have to go to the people so they do not care to take into account the aspirations of the people. He said his party MQM believes in constructive criticism so it would speak up on issues concerning the people of Pakistan.
He said his party walked out of the Senate and National Assembly on Tuesday to protest electricity tariff increase in Karachi.
Salim Saifullah of the PML-Q said that the battle for Pakistan was being fought in the tribal areas but development funds for that region have not been increased. Dr. Saeeda Iqbal of the PPP said it was the best possible budget in the given situation.
A controversy erupted when Khalid Mehmood Soomro of the JUI-F lashed out at the PM for allocating Rs12 billion for his native city of Multan. He said last year Multan was given Rs6 billion and now the amount has been doubled.
Salahuddin Dogar of the PPP from Multan hit back. He said the money given to Multan was meant for mega projects like an international airport “and not for the streets of Multan as claimed by Soomro”.
Professor Khursheed Ahmed of the Jamat-i-Islami protested that neither the federal finance minister nor the minister of state for finance were present during the budget debate. Hina Rabbani Khar arrived a little while later, though.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 10th, 2010.
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