Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Thursday that if government is “serious about Pakistan, it should reject what the IMF budget”.
Addressing Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin during the National Assembly session, the PPP chairman said if the government is going to ignore the voice of the common man then his party will highlight the issues.
PPP leader said: “We know the address of your Karachi’s residence. Go and ask people why are they upset? “If you will not go to people, we will bring people to you,” he said, reiterating that he knows Tarin’s address.
“We will bring Pakistanis out of this economic situation,” he asserted.
Reacting to the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021, Bilawal said: “This bill says that Pakistan’s defence expenditure will have just one bank account and all expenditures will be made through that account,” he said, adding that this would make it easier for “international forces” to scrutinise the country’s defence and nuclear expenditure.
During the session, PML-N Shahid Khaqan Abbasi questioned why it was necessary for the government to introduce a “mini-budget” and said that such a massive tax burden had never before been presented in the country’s history.
“It has been six months since you passed the finance bill. Have your revenues declines or expenses increased since then?” he asked. He also questioned why the people were being burdened with additional taxes of Rs350 billion.
In response, Tarin said that the IMF had called for imposing a value-added tax when he had previously served as the finance minister. He also emphasised the need for documenting the economy, stating that people’s incomes were not being taxed because they didn’t fall under the tax net.
