Third term of PML-N government far worse than past two tenures: PAT

A special meeting of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) was held here today at the central secretariat to discuss the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2015-16 with PAT Secretary General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur in the chair. The meeting was attended by the heads of all wings and senior leaders of the party.

Addressing the meeting, Khurram Nawaz Gandapur said that the third term of PML-N government is far worse than its previous two tenures. He said that the planned visit of the IMF Mission to Pakistan ahead of budget is a bad omen. He said that the government should keep the welfare of the masses in view while preparing budget instead of demands of donors, adding that the rulers should refrain from imposing new taxes to the tune of Rs. 500 billion and hiking gas and electricity charges. He said that if the government checks incidence of corruption which is roughly Rs. 2000 billion per annum, it would not need to take foreign loans.

Khurram Nawaz Gandapur said that the two-year performance of the government on economic front is disappointing to say the least. He said that Pakistan is paying the interest of an amount equivalent to development budget of two years per annum, adding that there is a deficit of Rs. 1049 billion between revenue and expenditure. He said that the government failed to achieve even a single economic target in two years since assuming power in 2013. He further stated that the benefit accruing from reduced prices of POL products in the global market was not passed on to the masses. He said that the Finance Minister has found an easy recipe of bridging the budget deficit by taking more loans instead of cutting down non-development expenditure.

The PAT Secretary General said that according to an estimate, Rs. 2000 billion are being squandered in the form of corruption every year, regretting that no law has been enacted to check the incidence of corruption. He said that the nation is hugely indebted and the country is being run on the oxygen of IMF loans. He said that sometimes the rulers give the glad tidings of a successful negotiation for more loans from IMF and then take credit on securing Chinese investment to the tune of $46 billion without telling the nation about what they achieved in two years. He asked how a country that pays Rs. 1000 as an interest on loans annually can stand on its own feet.

The meeting demanded of the government to increase the salaries and pensions of the serving and retired government employees by 50%. It further said that hydroelectric projects should be launched to harness enormous hydropower potential in the country. The participants of the meeting were of the view that the farmers should be given inputs on subsidized rates, which will not only increase agricultural produce in the country but also improve the conditions of farmers. It also demanded separate budgetary allocation for National Action Plan to ensure its implementation both in letter and spirit.