Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani has said the budget for next financial year is aimed at further consolidating the economic gains, providing relief to the people and continuing the journey of reforms.Taking party in the debate on budget for the next fiscal year at the National Assembly in Islamabad on Friday, Bilal Kayani said the government's target is to make the current IMF programme the last one. He emphasized that this will only be possible by enhancing exports and ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic growth. 

The Minister of State said a critical aspect of the next year’s budget is tariff reforms, aimed at enhancing productivity of industries. Bilal Kayani said allocation for Benazir Income Support Programme has been enhanced from 592 billion rupees to 716 billion rupees. He said salaries of government employees have been enhanced by ten percent and pensions of retired employees by seven percent. The Minister of State mentioned that salaried class has also been provided relief on taxes as was promised by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. 

He said new safeguards are being introduced for arrest in tax fraud cases. He emphasized that no arrests will be made during the inquiry stage and arrests during the investigation stage will only be made in cases involvement in sales tax fraud of over 50 million rupees, and only with the approval of a three-member FBR committee. Participating in the discussion on the budget, Nafeesa Shah emphasized the need for extending support to the agriculture sector. Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, taking the floor, termed the budget as balanced.

He said matters are moving towards improvement as a result of difficult decisions taken by the government. As regards to current year's Hajj, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said over one hundred and fifteen thousand Pakistani pilgrims performed Hajj this year. He said Saudi Arabia awarded award of excellence to Pakistan for making excellent arrangements for Pakistani pilgrims. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also appreciated Hajj arrangements. The Minister for Religious Affairs said process has been started to make arrangements for next year’s Hajj, emphasizing that the Saudi guidelines will be fully followed. 

In his remarks, Junaid Akbar Khan said the budget carries nothing for the people. He said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have rendered immense sacrifices in the war on terrorism. Syed Rafiullah urged the government to review family pension reforms, emphasizing that there should be no limitations on pensions for spouses and disabled children. Sahibzada Hamid Raza said health and education have been ignored in the budget.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)