Siraj warns govt against selling national assets

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Siraj-ul-Haq has warned that the PTI government had formulated a programme to sell most of the national institutions, including power sector, banks, PIA and Pakistan Railways, which would further deepen the economic crisis that would result in inevitable unemployment, poverty and inflation in the country.

In a pre-budget statement issued from Mansoorah on Thursday, Ameer JI Siraj-ul-Haq said the finance minister should fulfill his promise not to increase power tariffs and taxes in the budget. He said power plants have been shut down due to gas shortage, resulting in eight to twelve hours of loadshedding. He asked the federal minister the reason of paying the owners of non-operational power plants. He said it would be a wonder, if the government could meet even one of the targets set in the economic survey, demanding interest free loans to SMEs, and direct subsidies to the farmers.

Siraj-ul-Haq said 80 to 85 percent of the loans from banks were taken by the corporate sector and later they got written off those loans. He said 60 percent of the country's population consisted of youth, the government should provide a clear programme in the budget to create employment opportunities for those 60 percent. On the reports of increase in exports, he said the fact is the country's cotton production has declined by more than 30 percent. The decline in leather and cotton exports deprived the country with much-needed foreign exchange. He said the government should focus on arresting rising inflation, poverty, and unemployment and to provide relief to the people.