ISLAMABAD: PML-N President and opposition leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari blasted the PTI-led government for imposing a mini-budget on the people.
Shehbaz Shehbaz lamented that additional collection of Rs360 billions taxes from people was the most cruelest strategy of the PTI, which was actively pursuing economic terrorism”, making miserable life of people.
Opposition leader added that he had already forewarned the people that the budget 2021-22 presented by the PTI government was a fraud, while the real hammer would be dropped on the nation through mini-budgets.
PML(N) president said there was not a single measure of relief for the poverty-stricken Pakistanis in the mini-budget.
He said, “Essential commodities and food items have been brutally taxed. In addition to that, mobile phones and computers have been slapped with an advance income tax of 10-15%.”
The PML-N president claimed that making infant milk, yogurt, bread, buns, and chillies more expensive would make life even harder for the people, who were already on the verge of starvation because of the PTI’s policies. Shehbaz also criticised the State Bank (Amendment) Bill.
“According to this IMF-dictated bill, the State Bank is only responsible to control inflation and cannot fund the government no matter how grave or dire the situation might be even in the event of a natural disaster.”
Bilawal also rejected the mini-budget, saying that to receive $1 billion tranche from the IMF, Prime Minister Imran Khan had pushed the common man against the wall.
“We have been saying since day one that Imran Khan’s deal with the IMF would bring the country to the brink of disaster,” he added.
The PPP chairman claimed that PM Imran had increased his “brutality” by increasing taxes on everything from bakery items to infant milk.
He added that PM Imran had proved that he was the enemy of the people by increasing the price of packaged milk and matches in the mini-budget.
Both Shehbaz and Bilawal were absent from the proceedings of the National Assembly at the time the finance minister tabled the supplementary finance bill or “mini-budget” earlier in the day.
