• Proposes drawing up two-month budget for administrative purposes only
• BAP senator seeks accountability of those who renegotiated IPP deals

ISLAMABAD: Senators on Friday called for a broader dialogue to evolve consensus on long-term consistent economic policy to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and shore up economy, saying frequent changes in policy shatters trust of investors.

Taking part in budget discussion, they also underlined the need for plans to get out of the debt trap and exploiting huge natural resources the country was blessed with. They demanded cut in government expenses and widening tax net instead of overburdening tax payers.

A highlight of the proceedings was the proposal by a PPP leader to put passage of budget on hold till a thorough discussion on it, noting that it would be inappropriate to pass it in haste.

Former minister of state for law Shahadat Awan said the passage of budget in 14 days would be strange when major parties had not been taken on board while preparing it. “There would have been no issue in its passage in two weeks, had the major parties been consulted during budget making, as per promise,” he said.

He proposed that a budget for two months be passed for administrative purposes for now, noting that the discussion should continue in the meantime. He said there was a need to minutely examine the budget proposals, pointing out some flaws in the budget.

He said the PPP had discussions on supporting the government encompassing coordination on measures for country’s development. He said an assurance had been held out to the PPP that it would be consulted on PSDP schemes, but regretted that it had not been taken into confidence.

Most of the schemes included in PSDP were unapproved, he said, which clearly indicated that it was meant to delay work on ongoing schemes. The PSDP book was replete with new schemes, despite government’s claim about funds shortage, he added.

Mr Awan warned that a tsunami of price hike in the coming days was imminent, noting that increase in salaries and pensions was not significant.

Senator Bilal Ahmed Khan Mandokhel of PPP said tax collection had continued to increase over time, but the tax net was not expanded and the already taxed were further burdened by every successive government. He noted that if the government expenses were not controlled, Pakistan would never be able to pay back its loans, explaining that the expected tax collection was Rs9,400bn whereas the government expenses were projected at Rs11,000bn.

He asked the government to grant the status of industry to mining and called for harnessing the mineral resources in a transparent manner to address economic woes of Pakistan.

Balochistan National Party senator Mohammad Qasim said over Rs18 trillion budget included Rs1,400bn development budget. He criticised hike in power tariff and asked the government to pay heed to the industrial sector as factory owners were shifting businesses to other countries due to poor economic policies.

MQM-P senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti sought an economic policy for the next 25 to 30 years, endorsed by the parliament and the national security council, with consensus to make it irreversible by successive governments. He said the budget would overburden the salaried class.

“Salaried class has been taxed every time, whereas the Finance Bill 2024 when compared to the neighbouring countries revealed that the country’s inflation is in double digits but that of India, Bangladesh and others is in single digits,” he said.

Pakistan’s growth rate, he added, was 2.4pc due to lack of policy consistency, whereas Bangladesh’s was 5.8pc.

PPP senator Nadeem Bhutto said political leadership would have to move towards a charter of economy to address chronic issues.

BAP senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri demanded that the government “renegotiate” agreements with the independent power producers (IPPs) to reduce the growing burden of capacity payments on the masses, fearing that new agreements with IPPs under CPEC would also worsen the situation. She also suggested those involved in the costliest energy agreements must be made to pay for the capacity charges and under the Foreign Assets (Declaration and Repatriation) Act, 2018 their assets should be scrutinised before and after those deals.

Sajid Mir suggested consultations with legal experts on how to get rid of agreements with independent power producers.

He also backed privatisation of loss-making enterprises, including Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Steel Mills.

Zeeshan Khanzada said the private sector and businesses should be fully facilitated to uplift the economy.

He said overseas Pakistanis should be given confidence to invest in Pakistan.

Dr Afnan Ullah Khan said the PSDP for the next fiscal year envisages important initiatives such as establishment of IT Parks and substantial allocations for water reservoirs.

The House also offered fateha for the departed soul of slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto on her birth anniversary, as the chair paid tributes to her struggle for democracy.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2024