ISLAMABAD - The opposition in Wednesday’s National Assembly sitting came down hard on the PTI government for putting extra burden on the people of Pakistan by bringing a ‘tsunami of taxes’ in the shape of supplementary budget.

While on the other hand, the treasury benches in their arguments defended the mini budget says it would not have any impact on the masses.

The PTI government, after thorough discussion by the members, is planning to put the supplementary budget for voting today and it would likely to be passed with a brute majority option in the house. PPP-P’s Co-Chairman Bilawa Bhutto Zardari, taking part in the debate, said the incumbent government has made a record of introducing a budget after every three months.  

“This government is confused over its own economic policies,” he said, mentioning that with this supplementary budget the government would bring a ‘tsunami of taxes’ in the supplementary budget. “The burden of new taxes would badly impact the common people of the country and it would be an economic slaughter,” he commented.

About the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2021, Bilawal said that the IMF had also made a failed attempt to take the autonomy of the central bank in the governments of both PPP-P and PML-N. 

“The present government could also have showed rigidity like the previous governments had done but it preferred the IMF’s option,” he said, mentioning that the current government has broken the records of negative government with its wrong economic policies.

He said that the present government had promised economic prosperity but it, against its promise, was bringing a tsunami of taxes. 

“It is quite clear to understand, as if taxes of Rs343 billion are imposed, inflation will increase,” he said.

He said the government was also proposing the imposition of taxes on charities, goods imported for the United Nations relief efforts as well as items sent in the aftermath of calamities and disasters.

He also questioned why the government had imposed taxes on solar energy systems when climate change was the most pressing issue in the country.

About the local bodies polls in KP, he termed it a small trailer for the ruling party (PTI).

Responding to the criticism over the mini-budget, Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar claimed that this supplementary budget would not impact the masses of the country.

“These taxes are adjustable and the majority of them will not impact the masses. It will mainly help in documentation of the economy,” he argued.

He did not spare previous governments for introducing wrong economic policies in the country.

“The PTI government is taking measures to improve the economy of the country,” he said, adding that the country was bankrupte when the PTI’s government took the power.

“We are taking all possible measures to improve the economy,” he said, adding that the efforts of the incumbent government were lauded by Economist (Magazine), as the economy grew more than four percent as a result of prudent measures.

“There was 25 percent inflation in PPP-P’s tenure while in our term it reduced at 11-12 percent,” he said, adding that there was also economic mismanagement in PML-N’s era. 

PML-N’s parliamentary leader Khwaja Muhammad Asif, on his turn, also strongly criticized the government for imposing new taxes through mini-budget. 

He criticized the government for not ensuring the required strength in the house. He held Prime Minister Imran Khan responsible for all the mismanagement in the country.

Criticizing the clauses of the mini-budget, PML-N’s MNA Ahsan Iqbal asked the allies of PTI government not to support government over this callous finance bill. 

Realizing the thin presence in the house, a senior PML-N MNA pointed out the lack of quorum and consequently the chair adjourned the proceedings on it.

Earlier, during the session, a person from the visiting gallery was spotted as ‘stranger in the house’ by the chair and immediately stopped entering the house.

PTI MNA Amjad Niazi, while chairing the proceedings, ordered the sergeant in arms to immediately expel that strange person. On the instruction of the chair, the person immediately left the house.