KARACHI: Showing his dismay over the federal budget, Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor on Friday said that the hapless nation again witnessed yet another disappointing budget of the PTI government in which no relief was given to price hike-affected masses.
Shakoor said public sector development program of just Rs900billion was peanuts for provinces. He said 25 percent raise in salaries of government employees was promised, but just 10 percent increase was given to them, which was injustice and trickery. He said the price hike was on the fire and raise in salaries was not proportionate to it. He asked who would get Rs530billion subsidy for electricity as the electricity rates in Pakistan are already highest in Asia.
He said that tagging Rs12billion was a joke with agriculture sector. He said 8 percent target for inflation in this budget would open new floodgates of poverty and hunger in Pakistan. He said it seems that these rulers would present a mini-budget within next six months.
Shakoor said that approval of this budget from cabinet was disappointing. He said mafias were benefited in the budget while there was nothing for the poor. He said this heavily deficited budget would further increase burden of loans. He said the PTI government never gave attention to widen tax net and find new avenues of revenue collection.
He said 4.8 percent growth rate was lower even to the growth rate of Bangladesh. He said the government had done nothing to promote industry and this budget had also not allocated sufficient funds for industrial growth. He said both government and private sector employees are hard hit by price hike and steps should be taken to get salaries of the private employees increased at least at the rate of 10 percent.