Debate opens in Senate amid fierce criticism

Express Tribune

17 hours ago

The budget debate in the Senate commenced with a blistering criticism from Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz, who blasted the government's economic policy, calling the budget "controversial by birth" and a reflection of incompetence and unprofessionalism.
"This is the fourth budget of this installed regime, and it has broken all previous records of misgovernance," Faraz said, accusing the government of fabricating data and manipulating figures.
"The numbers in this budget seem compromised ... it's a statistical deception. In the past, budget figures were never questioned, but this time doubts are widespread," he added.
Faraz went on to say the current budget had "shattered the foundations" of Pakistan's already fragile economy.
Referring to the controversial February 8 elections, he alleged that just as the government had manipulated numbers, it was playing the same game with the budget.
He lamented that in Punjab, farmers were forced to dump wheat on the roads, calling it a failure of the state to protect agriculture.
"They've destroyed the agriculture sector and stifled industry. How can growth happen when even Letters of Credit (LCs) aren't being opened?" he said. "There is no coherent policy for industrial development, only discouragement."
"This is an IMF-dictated, anti-people budget. We've heard the 'South Asian Tiger' fantasy before. It's time to stop selling old fables," said Faraz, while lambasting the planning minister for "insultingly linking PTI with India". "PTI is not an anti-state party," he said.
"How can a country progress when people can't even access the internet?" He denounced the government as a product of "Form-47 legitimacy", saying true representatives would never have presented such a budget.
Shibli Faraz said that 61 million people fell below the poverty line post-2022 and that unemployment had surged by 14 million. He noted the lack of foreign direct investment and even remarked that "the Afghan currency is now stronger than the Pakistani rupee".
He slammed the imposition of taxes on stationery and questioned the government's understanding of public priorities, citing the number of out-of-school children and deteriorating public services.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb briefed the Senate Finance Committee on the budget, pushing back against the opposition's accusations.
He revealed that India's director at the IMF Board had tried to delay Pakistan's recent funding approval, but "despite Indian objections, $700 million was approved".
Aurangzeb asserted that Pakistan had met World Bank benchmarks and that the IFC had approved additional financing. "We expect policy rates to enter single digits this fiscal year," he added, saying fiscal and structural reforms, particularly in SOEs and energy, were showing results.
He acknowledged that privatisation targets had not been met this year but expressed optimism for the next fiscal. "We have tried to reduce the burden on the salaried class and cut transaction taxes in the construction sector," Aurangzeb said.
"On agricultural tax, the IMF has agreed to our stance following the prime minister's directive."