Aftab Sherpao says budget 2020-21 offers no relief to poor

PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday termed the federal budget 2020-21 as jugglery of words and said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government would soon present mini-budgets.According to a statement issued from Watan Kor, headquarters of QWP, he lambasted the government for presenting what he called a ‘historic deficit’ budget, saying the rulers were hiding behind the coronavirus pandemic to conceal their incompetence. “The rulers are saying that the Covid-19 pandemic reversed the growth rate but the performance of the government before the coronavirus outbreak was also unsatisfactory,” he maintained.Aftab Sherpao said the government had set a revenue target of Rs4.93 trillion that was going to be missed as it was impossible keeping in view the prevailing circumstances. “In the last budget too, the government could not meet the revenue collection target of Rs5.5 trillion and ended up collecting only Rs3.9 trillion,” he recalled. He pointed out that the government would seek loans from banks to bridge the budget deficit.He added the government should have passed on the full benefit of the decrease in the petroleum products, but it increased the petroleum levy by 73 percent. The QWP leader criticized the government for freezing the pension and salaries of civil servants. He maintained the government should have given relief to the salaried-class keeping in view the financial problems of the people in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.“Prime Minister Imran Khan is in the habit of blaming others for his failures. He cannot afford to offend the International Monetary Fund,” he added. He flayed the government for setting Rs650 billion for the Public Sector Development Programme, saying this amount was insufficient to generate growth and revive economic activity.

Aftab Sherpao said his party would vehemently oppose the bid to revisit the National Finance Commission award.

He maintained that the federal government did not honour its financial commitments about the merged districts and allocated only Rs48 billion for the former tribal areas. “Where are the Rs100 billion the government had promised to give the merged districts every year for 10 years?” he asked, adding that the government had reneged on its pledge.He also rejected as myth that the 2020-21 budget was a tax-free one, saying the government had set Rs1900 billion tax collection target.

He added the agriculture sector had contributed to the growth rate, but the government did not announce any relief for the farmers.

The QWP leader said that the government increased its expenditure by Rs11 trillion that spoke volumes about its intensions to lift the economy.

He added that the government had failed to provide any relief to the common people in the federal budget.