Last week, the federal budget was presented with a total outlay of Rs18.9 trillion for the upcoming year. It aims for a modest 3.6 per cent GDP growth. The government in the budget proposed an ambitious Rs13tr tax collection target, raised taxes on salaried classes and removed tax exemptions for the rest.
Also read: Rs18.9tr federal budget 2024-25 presented amid opposition’s uproar
As debate opened on the finance bill in the lower house of the Parliament, Omar Ayub launched broadside at the budget proposals, saying that the budget was a fraud with the people. “This is a highway robbery against the people of Pakistan. This budget in actuality is economic terrorism against the people and the future of the country,” he maintained.
As his speech was muted several times for lamenting the alleged interference of the establishment, Ayub, without naming anyone, alleged that the budget was made with the help of “economic hitmen who want to shake the foundation of this country”. The same “economic hitmen”, he added, were also involved in the PTI’s ouster from power in April 2022.
Also read: Aim of budget proposals is to deter non-filing of taxes: Finance Minister
He noted that investors would not trust the economy to invest in a country where there was “no rule of law”. The Opposition leader added that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had clearly instructed the government to hold talks with other stakeholders.
Terming Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb a very professional man, Omar said that his wings were clipped and that the government was trying to undermine the former such as by removing him from the chairmanship of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec).
He said, “Aurangzeb sahib’s heart must have sunk. The Ecnec chairmanship was taken away by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his wingman Senator Ishaq Dar entered, he said.
He said, “Aurangzeb is smiling right now but he must be thinking that I will talk to Omar Ayub later because I have said the right things.” He added, “If you look at the people who Aurangzeb is associated with, if you look at their biography, each one of them is a known gangster.”
He also questioned whether PPP members owned the budget. He said, “Would you vote for it with the government or not. Only a few people from the PPP participated in the budget presentation, he added.
He went on to say, “And if they are not with them then the government would be slaughtered. They do not have it in them to run the government.” “The budget won’t be passed. An illegal, anti-people budget cannot work,” he shared.
Regarding preparation of the budget, he said that the government did not put any room to manoeuvre for itself, adding that everyone was saying the budget was a constrained budget under the long shadow of IMF stipulations.
He said that only PTI founder Imran Khan could save the economy. “They (federal government) dug a grave for themselves, laid in it by themselves and are now asking to be saved,” he said.
