ahlam1399
06-08-2016, 12:58 AM
Terms new budget figure fudging on eco**mic growth; govt says budget is balanced
ISLAMABAD: Opposition lawmakers said in the Senate on Monday that the budget 2016-2017 lacked the vision to put the eco**my on a sound footing, adding that the an**unced minimum wage of Rs14,000 was **t e**ugh to make both ends meet, alleging the government had resorted to figure fudging on eco**mic growth.
PTI’s parliamentary leader Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak questioned why the government had **t worked out the toll tax with China, as some 55,000 containers would be plying on Pak roads at one time and this could generate dollars seven trillion for Pakistan.
The opposition came down hard on the government for its new budget even in the backdrop of the Panama Papers, said it failed to envisage a strategy to combat corruption and that **t a passing remark was made to deal with this rampant menace.
Opposition senators rubbished the stock exchange as a barometer of eco**mic betterment, dubbing the exchange as a gamble house, having **thing to do with the national eco**my. They grilled the government over the fall in electricity as compared to the last year, rejecting the government’s claim of adding hundreds of megawatts to the national grid.
On the contrary, the treasury members said the budget was a balanced one, keeping in view ground realities. They welcomed relief for the agriculture sector, insisting more could be done to ensure it reaches out to small growers.
The House initiated a budget debate on a motion moved by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on June 3 that the Senate may make recommendations to the National Assembly on the Finance Bill, 2016, containing the annual budget statement.
The Senate Chairman, Mian Raza Rabbani, ruled that all the items in the Federal Legislative List, Part-II, should be approved by the Council of Common Interests instead of the federal cabinet and that Article 172 should be made operational with regards to oil and gas sectors, making the Centre and the provinces 50 per cent share holders each.
PTI’s Senator Nauman Wazir contended that the eco**my would **t be out of trouble with growth target fixed at 4.7 percent and referred to 12 percent growth, achieved by Macao and New Guinea, adding Pakistan had this much growth in the past and was achievable in future.
He wished taking corruption head on and said the government must strengthen and equip the FBR with more powers to meet this challenge, but absolutely **thing was done on this count.
The senator pointed out while the defence budget was Rs860 billion, Rs600 billion were to be eaten away by the loss-making state enterprises, but still the government had **t given any strategy regarding them in the budget. He alleged the actual growth was 3.2 percent but the government fudged the figure to show it at Rs4.5 percent.
The senator questioned the government’s logic for **t following the order of merit in power generation and going even for costly generation from Nandipur. He claimed the tax net could **t be broadened in three years instead it had been squeezed. He complained even the trend of Benami accounts could be halted.
He wondered how the government would fulfill its promise of cheap electricity when it was **t going for hydel power and **thing was allocated for the Munda Dam and a paltry allocation was made for the Diamer Bhasha Dam.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed of PML-Q told the government it could **t pay attention to reform the FBR and devise a strategy to bring back the wealth stashed away abroad. He **ted Nigeria an**unced two days back that it had brought back dollars 9 billion in a *****down against corruption.
He wondered how would the issue of power outages be addressed with old transmission lines and massive power pilferage, as these two factors were mainly responsible for the loss of Rs1 billion to the national exchequer.
Mushahid also claimed that installed power capacity had decreased and **ted the government gave away Rs988 billion to retire the circular debt in three years, asking what results had been achieved out of this.
He said that lowest allocation was made in the budget for Balochistan, being the foundation of China-Pakistan Eco**mic Corridor. He also wanted to k**w why the government had **t devised any plan with regard to Asia Pacific-Indian Ocean after a US naval commander recently an**unced cooperation with India from Hollywood to Bollywood.
Mushahid contended that there was a need for review of the national security policy and foreign policy and asserted that there must a redefinition of the national security paradigm, giving due importance to parliament, supremacy of the Constitution, political parties, rule of law and provincial auto**my. “The national eco**my and national security are inter-connected,” he said.
He also called for shedding the mindset of Jihad of 1980s and 1990s and focusing on exploiting opportunities in the region, as already three neighbours i.e. Iran, Afghanistan and India had signed an agreement on mutual cooperation. He wanted Pakistan to pursue the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and TAPI gas projects.
ANP’s Ilyas Bilour decried the fact that a negligible amount was allocated for the Diamer Bhasha Dam and **ted that last year, the allocations under the PSDP were **t released for hydel projects, questioning the government’s wisdom behind it. “The budget is aimed at further rewarding the elite class with a theory of trickle down, passing on whatever is left for the poor,” asserted PPP’s Senator Taj Haider.
He alleged the same approach could be seen with the Centre taking away what belonged to the provinces and then it being shifted out of Pakistan.
The senator questioned the government’s claim of a record increase in foreign exchange reserves, asking if agriculture sector was performing poorly, exports plunging, then should be it be called a success and referred to dollars 19 billion remittances sent by 10 million overseas Pakistanis.
Taj Haider wanted to k**w the benefit of spending billions of rupees on what he called fancy projects like the metro and orange line trains and said with a very small amount, many buses could have been manufactured locally. He said the Pakistan Steel Mills, which was achieving break even, had been locked while Al-Tuwariqi Steel Mills was denied gas supply. He ruled out the possibility of improving the national eco**my without investing more on the state-owned entities and setting up more enterprises.
Senator Ahmad Hasan of PPP and independent Senator from Fata Aurangzeb Khan said the allocation for Fata uplift was very small, calling for reviewing it, saying backwardness and poor eco**mic conditions were the root-cause of violence in the tribal region.
PML-N’s Saud Majid called the budget a balanced one and said the masses had also been given some relief and **ted inflation had been brought down massively and there had been a record tax collection this year.
Muhammad Azam Swati of PTI criticised the budget, that lacked the vision to take forward the national eco**my. He wanted to k**w what out-of-the-box solutions the government had to broaden the vital tax net and eliminate rampant corruption.
The issue of controversial Kalabagh Dam issue again echoed in the House when the ruling PML-N Senator Saud Majid wanted building of the dam. On this, Rabbani remarked, “Kalabagh Dam is a controversial issue. Three provinces have passed resolutions against it and these are in the field, unless the provinces rescind them. It is incumbent upon the bureaucracy to respect them.”
Earlier, the Senate passed a resolution paying rich tributes to late Muhammad Ali, three time heavyweight boxing champion and a civil rights activist. It was moved by the Leader of the House, Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq, carrying his signatures and of Mushahid, Saeed Ghani and Azam Swati.
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ISLAMABAD: Opposition lawmakers said in the Senate on Monday that the budget 2016-2017 lacked the vision to put the eco**my on a sound footing, adding that the an**unced minimum wage of Rs14,000 was **t e**ugh to make both ends meet, alleging the government had resorted to figure fudging on eco**mic growth.
PTI’s parliamentary leader Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak questioned why the government had **t worked out the toll tax with China, as some 55,000 containers would be plying on Pak roads at one time and this could generate dollars seven trillion for Pakistan.
The opposition came down hard on the government for its new budget even in the backdrop of the Panama Papers, said it failed to envisage a strategy to combat corruption and that **t a passing remark was made to deal with this rampant menace.
Opposition senators rubbished the stock exchange as a barometer of eco**mic betterment, dubbing the exchange as a gamble house, having **thing to do with the national eco**my. They grilled the government over the fall in electricity as compared to the last year, rejecting the government’s claim of adding hundreds of megawatts to the national grid.
On the contrary, the treasury members said the budget was a balanced one, keeping in view ground realities. They welcomed relief for the agriculture sector, insisting more could be done to ensure it reaches out to small growers.
The House initiated a budget debate on a motion moved by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on June 3 that the Senate may make recommendations to the National Assembly on the Finance Bill, 2016, containing the annual budget statement.
The Senate Chairman, Mian Raza Rabbani, ruled that all the items in the Federal Legislative List, Part-II, should be approved by the Council of Common Interests instead of the federal cabinet and that Article 172 should be made operational with regards to oil and gas sectors, making the Centre and the provinces 50 per cent share holders each.
PTI’s Senator Nauman Wazir contended that the eco**my would **t be out of trouble with growth target fixed at 4.7 percent and referred to 12 percent growth, achieved by Macao and New Guinea, adding Pakistan had this much growth in the past and was achievable in future.
He wished taking corruption head on and said the government must strengthen and equip the FBR with more powers to meet this challenge, but absolutely **thing was done on this count.
The senator pointed out while the defence budget was Rs860 billion, Rs600 billion were to be eaten away by the loss-making state enterprises, but still the government had **t given any strategy regarding them in the budget. He alleged the actual growth was 3.2 percent but the government fudged the figure to show it at Rs4.5 percent.
The senator questioned the government’s logic for **t following the order of merit in power generation and going even for costly generation from Nandipur. He claimed the tax net could **t be broadened in three years instead it had been squeezed. He complained even the trend of Benami accounts could be halted.
He wondered how the government would fulfill its promise of cheap electricity when it was **t going for hydel power and **thing was allocated for the Munda Dam and a paltry allocation was made for the Diamer Bhasha Dam.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed of PML-Q told the government it could **t pay attention to reform the FBR and devise a strategy to bring back the wealth stashed away abroad. He **ted Nigeria an**unced two days back that it had brought back dollars 9 billion in a *****down against corruption.
He wondered how would the issue of power outages be addressed with old transmission lines and massive power pilferage, as these two factors were mainly responsible for the loss of Rs1 billion to the national exchequer.
Mushahid also claimed that installed power capacity had decreased and **ted the government gave away Rs988 billion to retire the circular debt in three years, asking what results had been achieved out of this.
He said that lowest allocation was made in the budget for Balochistan, being the foundation of China-Pakistan Eco**mic Corridor. He also wanted to k**w why the government had **t devised any plan with regard to Asia Pacific-Indian Ocean after a US naval commander recently an**unced cooperation with India from Hollywood to Bollywood.
Mushahid contended that there was a need for review of the national security policy and foreign policy and asserted that there must a redefinition of the national security paradigm, giving due importance to parliament, supremacy of the Constitution, political parties, rule of law and provincial auto**my. “The national eco**my and national security are inter-connected,” he said.
He also called for shedding the mindset of Jihad of 1980s and 1990s and focusing on exploiting opportunities in the region, as already three neighbours i.e. Iran, Afghanistan and India had signed an agreement on mutual cooperation. He wanted Pakistan to pursue the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and TAPI gas projects.
ANP’s Ilyas Bilour decried the fact that a negligible amount was allocated for the Diamer Bhasha Dam and **ted that last year, the allocations under the PSDP were **t released for hydel projects, questioning the government’s wisdom behind it. “The budget is aimed at further rewarding the elite class with a theory of trickle down, passing on whatever is left for the poor,” asserted PPP’s Senator Taj Haider.
He alleged the same approach could be seen with the Centre taking away what belonged to the provinces and then it being shifted out of Pakistan.
The senator questioned the government’s claim of a record increase in foreign exchange reserves, asking if agriculture sector was performing poorly, exports plunging, then should be it be called a success and referred to dollars 19 billion remittances sent by 10 million overseas Pakistanis.
Taj Haider wanted to k**w the benefit of spending billions of rupees on what he called fancy projects like the metro and orange line trains and said with a very small amount, many buses could have been manufactured locally. He said the Pakistan Steel Mills, which was achieving break even, had been locked while Al-Tuwariqi Steel Mills was denied gas supply. He ruled out the possibility of improving the national eco**my without investing more on the state-owned entities and setting up more enterprises.
Senator Ahmad Hasan of PPP and independent Senator from Fata Aurangzeb Khan said the allocation for Fata uplift was very small, calling for reviewing it, saying backwardness and poor eco**mic conditions were the root-cause of violence in the tribal region.
PML-N’s Saud Majid called the budget a balanced one and said the masses had also been given some relief and **ted inflation had been brought down massively and there had been a record tax collection this year.
Muhammad Azam Swati of PTI criticised the budget, that lacked the vision to take forward the national eco**my. He wanted to k**w what out-of-the-box solutions the government had to broaden the vital tax net and eliminate rampant corruption.
The issue of controversial Kalabagh Dam issue again echoed in the House when the ruling PML-N Senator Saud Majid wanted building of the dam. On this, Rabbani remarked, “Kalabagh Dam is a controversial issue. Three provinces have passed resolutions against it and these are in the field, unless the provinces rescind them. It is incumbent upon the bureaucracy to respect them.”
Earlier, the Senate passed a resolution paying rich tributes to late Muhammad Ali, three time heavyweight boxing champion and a civil rights activist. It was moved by the Leader of the House, Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq, carrying his signatures and of Mushahid, Saeed Ghani and Azam Swati.
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