PTI senator proposes Senate panel to frame charter of economy

ISLAMABAD: The ruling PTI Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak Monday proposed constitution of a Senate committee to thrash out a charter of economy with chairman from the opposition side.

Resuming speech in the ongoing budget discussion in the House with Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in the chair, Senator Khattak opined that the chairman or chairperson of the proposed committee should be from the opposition parties.

“Yes, we are for the charter of economy and it should be formed in the national interest. I also urge the opposition senators to give their proposals to the government on the state-owned enterprises and the circular debt, as the state entities alone are eating up Rs1200 billion annually,” he noted.

He cautioned the opposition against impeding the passage of budget in the National Assembly. “Are we asking someone questioning the democratic process in Pakistan? Will these people sit quiet? What exactly is in your mind? Do you think this way you want to change the government? Let us collectively correct the wrongs,” he argued.

Referring to Rs24,000 billion loans obtained during the previous two tenures of PPP and PML-N governments, he claimed that it was admonishable that the bulk of these had gone to corruption or spent on needless projects, having nothing do with the masses welfare.

Senator Khattak noted that previously loans were obtained at the much higher interest rates and referred to the loans taken under the CPEC projects and floating Sukuk bonds. He called for a probe into such very expensive loans.

The senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pointed out that Rs98 billion was given to the defence production-related government factories but never had been asked a question. “Yes, we ask them to bring a viable business plan, as to how these can be made viable. Such things should come to the limelight,” he said.

He informed the House that the same consultant, who had worked on the Islamabad International Airport, was involved with regard to the BRT in Peshawar. Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Prof. Mushtaq Ahmad and Ch. Tanvir Khan of PML-N said the budget was not pro-poor, rather it was anti-people and called for its review. They also expressed grave concern over the freezing of defence budget in the backdrop of rupee devaluation and called it a cut in the budget, whereas India had increased its defence allocations.

Senator Mushtaq noted that the budget was also a moral document, but the one presented in the National Assembly had so many contradictions and unrealistic targets. He added that there had been 39 per cent increase in indirect taxation and only 25 per cent in direct taxes, having no viable plan to expand the tax net.

He also said there had been 28 per cent lesser allocations for education and 21 per for health sector, adding Rs100 billion was promised annually for tribal districts but only Rs48 billion was proposed in the budget, dubbing it a dacoity on the rights of tribal people’s rights.

He also decried exclusion of CPEC alternative route via Gilgit, Chitral and other areas. The system of zakat and usher, he emphasized, should be expanded under a vibrant mechanism and called for doing away with interest-based system, which would never help end poverty and Pakistan’s financial woes. He added the budget without a new NFC was a denial of the rights of provinces and a question mark on its constitutional status.