A photo showing PTI chairman Imran Khan. PHOTO: PPI / FILE
As part of a series of seminars to dissect the manifestos of various political parties, the Sustainable Policy Development Institute invited speakers from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in Islamabad on Wednesday to address a gathering of journalists and political enthusiasts.
The PTI’s 31-page account of projected changes to turn around rampant corruption and deprivation in Pakistan is to its credit, cloaked with an optimism that is heartening were it to satiate the many echoes of ‘but how?’ within the seminar room.
The verbal crossfire between PTI’s advocates and those curious to undress a prudish set of plans was not out of hostility, but out of genuine curiosity.
PTI’s Deputy Secretary Information Ahmad Jawad and the party’s International Chapter chief Dr Humayun Mohamand unveiled a manifesto that can be described as vague, at best as it communicated an idealistic makeover of Pakistan into what Jawad related as a shift towards a self-sufficient welfare state without reliance on foreign aid.
The party hopes to do so through internal taxation – a projected Rs900 billion – and through urging top-tier state actors to relinquish perks which will presumably allow for more fiscal flexibility to divert into the economy. Mohamand shared PTI’s plans to increase public health funding from 0.8 % of the GDP to an estimated 2.6 % within its five-year-rule. “We want to create a ‘Health Equity Fund’ for the treatment of the poorest of the poor,” said Mohamand. According to Jawad, alternate energy resources, such as the use of coal for power generation would help ‘solve the energy crisis’, reducing the vicious cycle of debt.
“We want to reduce our ministries to 17,” he said, revealing that Pakistan’s ministries, between 37 and 50 in total, were superfluous and institutions such as Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Railways could benefit from privatisation.
“The schemes outlined in this manifesto will require a lot more funding than the projected Rs900 billion that the party hopes to recover through firm taxation,” said journalist, Khalid Jamil, expanding that debt management, which is crucial to self-sustainability and future of economy, was not tackled in necessary detail within the manifesto. “For instance, how is the party planning to generate the $7 billion required for its coal power project?”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2013.
Correction: An earlier version of the article cited the projected tax collection in dollars instead of rupees.
COMMENTS (39)
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@Mikaail: and who are you to call others responses illiterate - its none of your business , everyone has a right to express their views weather you like them or not and just so you know - pml-n will be history after 11th may.
@Mikaail: Part of the reason that many comments are pointing to Nida's comment is that many comments were published late, because of which many commentators submitted the same comment asuming nobody else has responded to it. Coming back to the issue at hand, debt management issue is simple, you need enough fiscal space to tackle that. As of now, our fixed costs are too high and the only way to increase fiscal space is through increase of tax. For details of this one as well as coal power project, please see my first comment under the article.
The comment section of almost every article shows why this country will never get on the right track. Intolerance and mud-slinging seem like the only responses to criticism. The article was about a Sustainable Policy Development Institute seminar. If PTI's manifesto is scrutinized in an attempt to better understand the functionality of it, why are you guys acting like barbarians and throwing in arguments like 'How can you vote for someone else?' - What does that have to do with anything? If Nida Ali made a mistake, and you know someone has pointed it out, why do you still feel the need to jump on the hate wagon? When Imran's policies are criticized, we shouldn't throw illiterate responses like 'ET doesn't have the guts to criticize PML or PPP' or 'PTI IS THE ONLY HOPE' - that's as benighted and ridiculous as one can be . Criticism should be answered by substantial information that negates it or clarifies any misunderstanding. Stop sounding hopeless.
If PTI's manifesto doesn't tackle the Debt Management, then PTI policy makers should look into it. Similarly, there is nothing wrong in questioning how they'll generate $7 billion for the coal power project and the policy makers should be able to answer that too.
will the PTI burger kids, most of whom are offsprings of the corrupt elite class and retired bureaucrats, generals and feudals, bring change first in their homes and families before bringing any "utopian revolution" the the country.
Very interesting . Did anyone knew how will Gwadar port, IP pipeline, Basha Dam will be finananced before political decision was taken?
Go PTi. Trounce the darbaris like me
Lakson tobacco gives you yellow teeth and yellow journalism. Print this ET, if you have any sense of balance.
@Nida Ali:
Do you know the difference between $ and Rs.? Read the news item again before vomiting your reflexive hatred for Imran out-- it is Rs. 900 billion, not $ 900 billion. And finally, use a better text book for looking up some basic economic equation to impress us with your PMLN level of economic mastery-- GDP equation also contains a term called (X-M), which is your net trade balance, darbaran sahiba!
@Hussain: yeah lol..but we should appreciate ET for still allowing us to publish our comments
@Nida Ali: its Rs.900 billion not $900 billion..get yr facts right first
There are two parallel economies in Pakistan. One which is documented and the another one which is not . Irrespective of the fact that the official version of economy is lost whereas the businesses in private are at its full swing, investment in property and construction is the one example. Once all of the economy is made official and every thing registered the PTI can generate even more revenue than the one mentioned above. And that can be done through the institutions like that of Nadra, where official record of each person , his property,property of his dependents and the tax paid on that property can be incorporated.The first step will be to start from all the existing and ex-parliamentarians, bureaucrats, generals, business tycoons, and other senior officials. The prime minister and his parliamentarians will present themselves first for the accountability and then the process will be extended to others. There will be a computerized mechanism bt Nadra , FBR, Income tax deptt. and other, so that no one can escape the net.Another step for the strengthening of this program will be to computerize of the revenue record at district level and shared with all the above mentioned concerned departments besides making it public. Dear brothers all this can be done within 6 months i guarantee.
It never fails to amuse me how any sane and mildly intellectual person could even fathom the thought of the tried and tested faces in the parliament. Are we so deluded to assume that those who wrecked this country time and again would "learn from their mistakes"? The current fake degree saga serves once again to reiterate the ostensibly criminal intent of them politicians nay a few.
The only feasible option now should be Tehreek-e-Insaf. On the face of it atleast, with an honest Imran Khan at the top and highly regarded professionals under him, one could say well they atleast don't need to get their hands dirty, but they are for the sake of this country. I for one never voted in my life, partly because I was seriously disillusioned with the PPPs and PMLNs. My vote is for PTI now.
@Nida Ali: It says Rs. 900 billion which is around $9 billion. WOW son.
@Nida Ali: You are a genius who lacks common sense.
guys its not $900 billion instead its Rs 900 billion...
@Nida Ali: its mentioned in rupees u calculated in dollars please correct your units
Only party that has visions for an aid free Pakistan, Thats why everyone is asking question. Way to go PTI
ET, there is a serious mistake with this report. No where has PTI mentioned $900 billion in its report
@Nida: There is no mention of $900 billion in manifesto. Better read the manifesto instead of blindly relying on ET.
@Nida: There is no mention of $900bn in manifesto. Better read the manifesto instead of relying on whatever ET says.
@Nida Ali: I feel like you jumped the gun without reading the whole article above. What you picked on was a typo in ET's wording in the 4th paragraph. If you notice, in the last paragraph, it is PKR 900 billion. Secondly, if you were to look at the detailed economic policy put forward earlier by PTI, all they are saying is saying that it will generate additional 9% of GDP in fiscal space by the end of its tenure where 5% will come from additional taxation raising it incrementally 1% every year (this is a conservative metric and has been vetted by Dr. Hafeez Sheikh the lat finance minister) and additional 4% will come from re-structuring of GSE operations (currently in excess of PKR 500 billion) and cost savings by streamlining governance. As far as the thar coal investment is concerned, Asad was working with foreign banks to get a quote on that one. Taking into consideration return on investment of the energy project, we can find enough global financial firms to fund the project (may be through syndicated arrangement) provided a credible govt. provides assurance to the investor that their investment is secure. It is certainly difficult but not impossible.
@Nida Ali: So even if I take your knowledge of economics at face value and argue that we cant increase the GDP through taxation alone, can we not create an environment to induce investment or increase exports ? Anyhow, can you please share the pragmatic approach that your leader Nawaz Sharif envisions ??
Lets stop pointing fingers at someone who is willing to do something for the country with all his heart. Lets all please give Imran Khan a chance. Vote for change. Vote for PTI. Lets please build a 'Naya Pakistan'.
I think it was a typing error. It should have read 900 Billion rupees and not $.@Nida Ali:
@Nida Ali: the answer to your question lies in the last paragraph of the article itself. The number is RUPEES 900bn and NOT DOLLARS 900bn... it was a typo in the article.
But of course you knew that!!!!!
@ nadia ali your maths must be right, seems you are talking from a professional back ground hey why not write a letter to the dawn or news editor and afford the PTI "burger kids" an opportunity to answer, we the pakistani people will be better served,
@Nida Ali: I read whole PTI manifesto no where it mentions $900 billion tax collections.
Simply can't comprehend the obsession of ET with PTI!
Wow..does ET proof read their stories? I doubt as it was Rs.900Billion and our smart readers start analyzing it too without thinking.
Its 900 billion rupees not dollars that's crazy, do people check the facts before publishing
Everybody against PTI, PTI must be doing something right!
what is up with ET and its anit-PTI rhetoric ?? I mean its so unbelievable that a guy who is actually willing to do something for the country is being so myopicly viewed. The Zardaris and Nawazs have been left out of all the criticism in the world.
PTI to win IA !!!!!
These journalists have no guts to scrutinize Nawaz and Zardari's billions but they have a God given duty to scrutinize any thing about PTI and Imran Khan.
If there is a will, there is a way.
That's what I call a typical ET choice of words
PTI will win the polls. Inshallah!!
"The party hopes to do so through internal taxation – a projected $900 billion – and through urging top-tier state actors to relinquish perks which will presumably allow for more fiscal flexibility to divert into the economy." When the country's GDP is $200 billion how can they raise $900 billion taxes? Gross Domestic Product (or GDP= C + I + G) comprises of sum total of all goods & services produced in the economy. That means every Pakistani who earns Rupee 100 will have to pay taxes of Rs 450. Wow!!! These people are devoid of any realistic planning as most of the pseudo-intellectual burger kids have been living in a utopian world. At best, they can criticise others through social media campaigns.