IMF team’s visit doesn’t bode well: PAT
He said the government must abandon its plans of imposing Rs500 billion new taxes
He said the government must abandon its plans of imposing Rs500 billion new taxes. STOCK IMAGE
LAHORE:
The International Monetary Fund delegation’s visit to Pakistan before the announcement of the federal budget did not augur well for the country, Pakistan Awami Tehreek secretary Khurram Nawaz Gandapur said on Monday.
He was speaking at a session on the upcoming federal budget.
Gandapur said instead of cozying up to the IMF, the government should concentrate on problems faced by the citizens trapped in the poverty bracket. He said the government must abandon its plans of imposing Rs500 billion new taxes and raising the gas and electricity tariffs. “Instead of taking out loans, the government must clamp down on corruption.”
Participants of the session demanded a raise in salaries and a 50 per cent raise in pensions. They stressed the need for the government to focus on hydro-electric solutions to the energy crisis. Priority was demanded for the agriculture sector. Speakers said there was an urgent need to raise agri-output. They demanded subsidy on seeds, urea and electricity.
They also demanded special attention to implementation of the National Action Plan.
Gandapur said people had been depressed by the government’s performance two years on. He said development allocations in the past two years had equalled debt servicing that Pakistan paid each year.
He said there was a Rs11 trillion income-expenditure deficit. He said tax theft had risen exponentially and none of the economic goals the government had set itself have yet been achieved.
He said the country was being run on loans taken from the IMF. “The government talks about MoUs with China and the IMF… what has it really done these past two years. How can a country which has to pay almost Rs1 trillion in debt servicing each year ever hope to stand on its feet?”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 19th, 2015.
The International Monetary Fund delegation’s visit to Pakistan before the announcement of the federal budget did not augur well for the country, Pakistan Awami Tehreek secretary Khurram Nawaz Gandapur said on Monday.
He was speaking at a session on the upcoming federal budget.
Gandapur said instead of cozying up to the IMF, the government should concentrate on problems faced by the citizens trapped in the poverty bracket. He said the government must abandon its plans of imposing Rs500 billion new taxes and raising the gas and electricity tariffs. “Instead of taking out loans, the government must clamp down on corruption.”
Participants of the session demanded a raise in salaries and a 50 per cent raise in pensions. They stressed the need for the government to focus on hydro-electric solutions to the energy crisis. Priority was demanded for the agriculture sector. Speakers said there was an urgent need to raise agri-output. They demanded subsidy on seeds, urea and electricity.
They also demanded special attention to implementation of the National Action Plan.
Gandapur said people had been depressed by the government’s performance two years on. He said development allocations in the past two years had equalled debt servicing that Pakistan paid each year.
He said there was a Rs11 trillion income-expenditure deficit. He said tax theft had risen exponentially and none of the economic goals the government had set itself have yet been achieved.
He said the country was being run on loans taken from the IMF. “The government talks about MoUs with China and the IMF… what has it really done these past two years. How can a country which has to pay almost Rs1 trillion in debt servicing each year ever hope to stand on its feet?”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 19th, 2015.