All eyes are one the Parliament as Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin presents the budget 2021-22.
The finance minister was greeted by jeers from Opposition benches, with members shouting slogans and taunting the finance minister by laughing loudly as he praised PM Imran Khan’s economic initiatives.
Tarin lashed out at the previous governments, saying that a mountain of circular debt amounting to Rs1 trillion was inherited by the incumbent government due to the botched policies of its predecessor.
“We made the [capacity] payments otherwise the country would have defaulted,” he said. “I am presenting you the real picture of the nation and to highlight our performance,” added the minister.
Tarin said PM Imran Khan’s government does not hesitate from taking difficult decisions. He said the incumbent government had, through its sound economic policies, turned around the current account deficit into a surplus in 2021.
As he spoke, Opposition members continued to bang desks and shouted slogans of “Go Niazi Go!” as the minister spoke.
The minister paid tribute to the PTI government for stemming the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and taking steps to ensure businesses did not suffer massive losses in the country due to the lockdowns.
“The government, through the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme, provided cash to 12mn people across the country,” he said.
Tarin said remittances had increased in Pakistan to record levels, adding that these are expected to rise to $29bn by the end of this month.
“This is proof of the love that overseas Pakistanis harbor for Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said.
Tarin said the economy had grown and as a result, more people had secured jobs over the years. The finance minister said that despite the coronavirus pandemic, the per capita income of the common man had increased by 15%.
Speaking about tax collection, he said it had grown by 18% and had crossed Rs4,000bn, adding that critics had no response to the government’s impressive performance in this regard.
More to come
