NA to witness united opposition against mini budget

ISLAMABAD: As the National Assembly (NA) session has been summoned for the coming Monday, the opposition is finalising its strategy to make a strong protest on the recent heavy taxation of Rs40 billion by the government and ignoring parliament while making such a vital and important decision.
Opposition Leader in the NA Syed Khursheed Shah is contacting all the leaders of the opposition to formulate a joint stance against the heavy taxation of Rs40 billion.
Shah rejected the new massive taxation and said that the government’s move clearly reflected that its economic policies had completely failed. “On the one hand, new loans were availed and on the other hand the burden of taxation was put on the common man,” he said.
He said the government was following the dictation of the IMF and it will only add to inflation. “We will raise the issue of massive taxation in the upcoming session of the National Assembly as dictations from the IMF are being taken,” he added.
During the informal contacts between the opposition parties, there was a consensus that the opposition will join hands against the heavy taxation and will use all the parliamentary tools to oppose it. “It seems that the decade of the 90s has come back when the IMF was advising the governments of the day for new taxation measures to control the budget deficit,” a senior leader of the opposition remarked.
Sources said it was expected that the opposition parties will hold their meeting on Monday before the session of the NA to make the final protest strategy.
Last week, the PPP and PTI had agreed to join hands in the lower house of parliament. In the meanwhile, the PPP has submitted an adjournment motion in the NA Secretariat to discuss the massive taxation during the NA session.
The adjournment motion, submitted by the PPP legislators Syed Naveed Qamar, Dr Shazia Mari, Dr Nafisa Shah, Aijaz Jakhrani and Makhdoom Syed Mustafa Mehmood, stated that the proceedings of the house be adjourned to discuss the urgent and serious matter related to imposition of massive new taxes on the direction of the IMF.
The PPP legislators through the motion were of the view that new taxes will result in higher inflation and put further burden on the already heavily-taxed class. “The government has so far failed to meet the tax revenue collection target and is trying to cover its inefficiency by increasing the taxes on general public,” the adjournment motion stated.