Cut expenses to benefit nation in budget: Siraj

LAHORE

Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has demanded the government cut its expenditures and give substantial relief to the masses in its last budget. 

Keeping in view that it is the last budget of the PML-N government, the rulers must not impose any new tax or raise previous taxes, and the tariff of electricity and gas and the POL prices should be reduced to relive the masses of the huge burden of price hike, he said in a statement on Wednesday.

He called for reasonable raise in the pensions of government, semi-government employees besides EOBI pensions. Peasants, workers and unregistered labourers should be registered and provided basic facilities of education and health and benefits under the labour laws. Similarly, he said, ad hoc employments should be ended and all ad hoc employees should be made permanent. The JI chief said the government had failed to provide any relief to people during its four year rule. The masses were crushed under price spiral and were finding it hard to make their both ends meet. 

He said the government had been acquiring huge loans from foreign institutions and burdened every citizen under heavy debt. He said the burden of taxes is increasing every year and as many as six taxes are being charged with electricity bill. Worst loadshedding is being observed and the government could not overcome energy crisis so far, he said and added the government had earlier announced Rs 2 billion subsidy as Ramazan Package  but it later slashed it to Rs 1.60 billion and remarked that this was mere peanut for a population of 200 million. He said subsidy should have been at least Rs 10 billion in the form of cut in the prices of basic food items, flour, pulses, sugar and rice. Besides, he said, the prices of all essential items should be kept under control through Market committees so that traders and middlemen could not fleece the consumers.