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The recent federal budget passed by the Imran Khan-led Pakistan government provides no relief for the common man, there are no incentives, no scope for job creation and revenue generation.
Zahid Khan Shinwari writes for The Frontier Post that the federal budget presented by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin shows an enormous budget deficit of Rs 3,900 billion. He questioned why the federal government could not on curtailing non-development expenditures by reducing and shrinking the overinflated but inefficient size of government ministries and departments. "When we are going to introduce the smart government concept adopted by many countries around the world? Why not negotiate and reducing defense budget? Why not rescheduling and restructuring debts with lender's to create breathing space and present a historical surplus budget?" he asked. He also highlighted that the tax revenue target of Pakistan - which is Rs 5,500 billion this year - was once lowered to Rs 5,000 and Rs 4,800, which even then couldn't be achieved despite tall claims of historical revenue collection by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Shinwali further said that the ratio of indirect taxes in Pakistan is very high and a burden on the common man and poor people. Furthermore, there are no incentives announced for local or foreign investment which is essential for job creation and revenue generation. Furthermore, there are no policy changes to rehabilitate and revive the economy of backward areas of the country. "Clearly, we have reconciled with the fact that people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan will always remain backward and industries and trade activities will only be available in Punjab and Karachi," Shinwali wrote for The Frontier Post. He also highlighted that inflation and price hikes are some other big challenges which have played havoc on the lives of common men as the current budget reflects no policy to provide any relief to them. Moreover, the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are still bleeding and are causing losses of up to Rs 700 billion per year. Despite the much-hyped federal budget, several people have expressed dissatisfaction with the increase in the salaries of government employees. Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Sunday said that the national budget for FY 2021-22 is 'fake' and warned Pakistani people about provisions of new taxes worth Rs 343 billion. "The budget is based on lies. It is a fake budget and the government will gut the people to complete its targets," he said. Earlier, Tarin was greeted by jeers from the Opposition benches, with members shouting slogans and taunting the finance minister by laughing loudly as he praised PM Imran Khan's economic initiatives while presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22. (ANI)
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