ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition parties on Tuesday termed the federal budget for fiscal year to June 2020 “anti-people” and dictated by the terms of an International Monetary Fund loan, adding that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had no roadmap or policy to provide relief to common Pakistanis facing the brunt of a ballooning economic crisis.
Pakistan has announced a Rs8.2 trillion budget with the next year, with a tax revenue target of Rs5.5 trillion, a 25 percent increase from the Rs4.4 trillion target set in last year’s budget.
As Revenue Minister Hammad Azhar unveiled the budget, members of the opposition parties chanted slogans against the government and held up placards that read: “IMF budget not accepted.”
Opposition politicians rejected the government’s claim that the budgetary proposals were focused on economic stability and sustainable growth and said the government’s vision would increase inflation and unemployment.
“This budget will bring a tsunami of new taxes and storm of inflation. We along with other opposition parties will try our best that this anti-people budget is not passed by the National Assembly,” Pakistan Peoples Party’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said while talking to reporters after the budget session.
Pervaiz Malik, a senior leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said the government had abolished a zero-rated tax regime on the export-oriented industry which would result in the reduction of the exports.
“The government has withdrawn the zero-rated tax facility on the pressure of the IMF [International Monetary Fund], and this will not only reduce the exports but also increase unemployment in the industrial sector,” he told Arab News, referring to a $6 billion bailout package that Pakistan is hoping the Fund will give final approval to.
Malik said the government had increased taxes on items of daily use including sugar, beverages and milk, and revised down the income tax limit for government employees from annual Rs1.2 million to Rs0.6 million.
“The PTI government has failed to keep its election promises of providing relief to the common man, and it stands fully exposed with this budget,” he said.
Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, a lawmaker from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal religious alliance, said the government had increased taxes on everything, but failed to increase budgetary allocations for education and health.
“There is nothing in this budget," he told Arab News. "In short, this is the IMF’s budget and we totally reject it.”
Opposition parties reject budget plan as anti-people, IMF-dictated
Opposition parties reject budget plan as anti-people, IMF-dictated
- Pakistan Peoples Party’s chair says will work with other opposition parties to ensure budget isn’t approved by parliament
- Opposition politicians hold up placards saying “IMF budget not accepted” as revenue minister delivers budget speech
Pakistan and Kazakhstan sign 37 MoUs to deepen cooperation, set $1 billion trade target
- Both sides agree to form strategic partnership and discuss enhanced physical connectivity
- PM Sharif says the two sides should turn these MoUs into implementable agreements
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kazakhstan on Wednesday agreed to establish a strategic partnership, signed 37 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and set a target of raising bilateral trade to $1 billion within a year, as the two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and physical connectivity amid a push for greater regional integration.
The MoUs were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who arrived in Islamabad a day earlier on an official visit.
Landlocked Kazakhstan is seeking access to global maritime trade through Pakistan’s ports on the Arabian Sea, while Islamabad has been positioning itself as a regional transit hub linking Central Asia with South Asia, the Middle East and beyond.
“We had very useful and productive meetings since morning, and just now we have had this signing ceremony of 37 MOUs,” Sharif said while addressing the gathering at the PM House, expressing hope that the understandings would soon be converted into binding agreements and implemented.
The two countries agreed to expand cooperation across transport and logistics, including rail, road and multimodal corridors, with Sharif offering Kazakhstan access to Pakistan’s transit infrastructure and seaports as part of broader efforts to enhance regional connectivity through Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Sharif acknowledged that current bilateral trade levels remained well below potential.
“Unfortunately, our trade volume is just meager $250 million during the last year,” he said. “This does not reflect not only the strength of our friendship, but also the potential of the two countries ... Let us make a commitment that we will take up our trade volume to $1 billion in the next one year.”
Speaking at the ceremony, Tokayev described Pakistan as a key partner for Kazakhstan.
“Pakistan is a reliable and important partner of Kazakhstan in South Asia and beyond,” he said. “Our peoples are united by centuries-old ties rooted in the legacy of the Great Silk Road, as well as by deep cultural and spiritual affinity.”
Beyond connectivity, the MOUs cover cooperation in energy, agriculture, mining and minerals, pharmaceuticals, defense production, digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
The two sides also agreed to promote joint ventures, particularly in food processing, agriculture value chains and industrial production.
Investment cooperation featured prominently, including the launch of a joint investment platform involving Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth entities and Pakistani partners to identify bankable projects in mining, energy and infrastructure.
The talks also addressed collaboration in education, science and culture, with both sides agreeing to expand academic exchanges, institutional linkages between universities and people-to-people contacts through cultural and sporting initiatives.
This is the first visit of a Kazakhstan president to Pakistan in 23 years.
The two countries are also scheduled to hold the joint business forum in which more than 250 companies from both sides will come together and are expected to sign commercial agreements.
