[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]ISLAMABAD: As the Senate on Friday unanimously adopted suggestions on the Money Bill to amend specific tax and duty laws through the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2023, a call was made in the house to eliminate perks for judges, generals, and lawmakers as a step towards guiding the nation out of the economic quagmire.
On a point of order, Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad read a document while waving a document in the air. There was no room for this opulent lifestyle, he added, despite the retired judge receiving about Rs 1 million in pension each month along with 2,000 free electricity units, 300 free litres of gasoline, and three free phone calls each costing Rs 3,000.
He demanded a significant reduction in the size of the current 87-member federal cabinet, referring to it as the largest cabinet in the world. He asserted that the bill was developed at the IMF’s headquarters rather than being prepared domestically. He disagreed with the government’s rhetoric that there was no other choice except to approach the IMF.
The opposition senate leader and PTI senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem claimed that the proposals made in the report accepted by this body wanted to inflict a tragedy on the people in the guise of a mini-budget. He said that the opposition outright rejected this purportedly contentious bill, labelling it anti-people.
He argued that the people should be at the centre of all government efforts, but his ideas were meant to make life even worse for the average person in light of the recent rise in taxes and inflation. He claimed that 155 expensive cars had been requested for import by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). He remarked, “The FBR should upgrade its antiquated IT system, which has become stale and incapable of serving its goal of tax collecting.
He added that the government should be forced to organise elections in the two provinces in accordance with the constitution because he believed there was still time for the country to be reclaimed. Yet, he continued, the populace must be permitted to select a unifying leadership through public elections in order to determine the future of the nation. Additionally, he questioned the government about what he claimed was the start of a campaign against the court.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would announce significant austerity measures in all government institutions to minimise the budget imbalance by reducing government spending, according to Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha on Friday.
The state minister said in a statement on the senate floor that “the prime minister has already constituted a commission to finalise the austerity measures and he would himself publish the recommendation finalised by the commission.” She stated that the national exchequer would no longer be used to pay the wages of the cabinet members, as they had all voluntarily stated.
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