Pakistan

Sugar crisis to be resolved in 3 days: Sattar

Farooq Sattar stressed on the need to introduce an agriculture tax in the country.

Express November 11, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar said on Thursday that all efforts will be made to bring the sugar crisis to an end within the next three days.

He said the MQM is very concerned over the rising inflation in the country adding that Federal Minister for Petroleum Syed Naveed Qamar and Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh had assured the MQM that the government will overcome the sugar crisis in next three days.

He stated that people have the right to know whether prices are increasing due to artificial inflation or due to the inefficiency of government officials.

The MQM leader also stressed on the need to introduce an agriculture tax in the country. He contended that the flood surcharge is being imposed on the people who are already under heavy burden of taxes.

MQM opposes flood tax

Earlier in the day the MQM had walked out from the Sindh Assembly session after the federation's insistence on imposing a flood-tax.

While debating on the issue, MQM's Parliamentary leader Syed Sardar Ahmad had said that inflation was already beyond control and his party would not let any other tax be imposed on the people.

However, Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Sindh Law Minister Ayaz Soomro had said that the flood tax would be imposed at every cost.

COMMENTS (2)

Naushad Shafkat | 14 years ago | Reply It is said that the people as a whole have a very short memory and thus when the sugar price comes down from Rs. 115 to say Rs. 95 they will heave a sigh of relief. They will forget that it was selling at Rs.75 at the start of the crisis. Just as during every Ramazan the prices of essentials goes up by around 30% to 50% but comes down by only a fraction after Eid. It is therefore important that the government carry out a thorough probe into the matter and find out why this massive rise in price took place, who created the crisis and who benefited from it. The government must also ensure that those responsible are made to pay for it. Unless they are punished they will do it again maybe with a different commodity. I would suggest that consumer's must form pressure groups in order to thwart such blatant profiteering by various cartels. Such groups work successfully in many countries and there is no reason why they could not have the same effect in our country. The people will have to resist on their own and not depend on any party or even the government. Only then will the prices of essentials remain within the reach of the common man.

Tanzeel | 14 years ago | Reply Dear MQM, I am fed up of getting a 'healthy' income tax deducted from my salary every month. They are imposing further in the name of so called flood tax, please do something for the salaried class You know the main victim of this tax will be Karachites. Looking forward forwards concrete measures from MQM this time. Regards, T

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