Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday outlined his party's reasons for supporting the PML-N-led ruling coalition's second budget, saying key amendments were made based on PPP's input.
Addressing the National Assembly ahead of the budget's passage, Bilawal explained why the PPP Parliamentarians – a major coalition partner – had decided to back the finance bill, despite earlier objections.
The PPP's support comes just days after it strongly criticized the federal budget, accusing the government of discriminating against Sindh and threatening to boycott the approval process. A similar standoff occurred last year between the PPP and the PML-N, which the PTI had described as a "fixed fight" meant to deflect public scrutiny.
Nevertheless, things remained largely calm between the PPP and the PML-N during this year's budget session.
In his speech, Bilawal noted that the government had increased funding for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), a welfare scheme introduced by his mother & former premier Benazir Bhutto, by 20 per cent.
The PPP leader criticized the previous PTI government for attempting to undermine BISP in every budget and commended the incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for consistently increasing its funding since assuming office.
The PPP chairman further noted that the government raised the income threshold for tax exemption from Rs600,000 to Rs1.2 million annually. Additionally, he highlighted that the tax on solar panels was reduced from 18 per cent to 10 per cent following objections raised by PPP members.
Bilawal also welcomed the decision to curtail the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)'s arrest powers. Under the new policy, arrests in tax cases can now only be made in instances of proven fraud and not at the inquiry stage. Moreover, such offences have been declared bailable. "These are the reasons why the PPP is supporting this budget," he said.
Earlier, the PPP chairman chaired a meeting of PPP parliamentary party, attended by all PPP lawmakers. During the session, PPP members briefed Bilawal on their proposals regarding the federal budget. He was also informed about the amendments incorporated into the budget as a result of PPP's input.
Bilawal was given a detailed briefing on the acceptance of the party's demand for a 20% increase in the budget of the BISP program, a party statement said, adding he was also apprised that the tax on solar panels has been slashed by nearly 50% in response to PPP's consistent advocacy.
Bilawal was also informed about how the government withdrew the controversial amendments related to FBR's powers to arrest owing to PPP's strong reservations. On PPP's suggestion, the PPP lawmakers were told that the federal budget now includes a 10% increase in government salaries and a 7% rise in pensions.
Moreover, PPP legislators were briefed that the party secured complete income tax exemption for salaried individuals earning up to Rs100,000 per month. Another key achievement highlighted during the briefing was the restoration of budgetary allocations for universities in Sindh following PPP's demand.
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