Pakistan can not progress in IMF slavey:Liaqat Baloch

Lahore: Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Siraj ul Haq, has said that the country’s development and prosperity could not be achieved without getting rid of the IMF slavery and adopting the path of self reliance.

In his presidential address at a Post budget seminar at Mansoora on Wednesday, he said that as in the past, the next year federal budget aimed at the betterment of the elite at the cost of the poor masses. The budget neglected the provision of basic requirements including education, health and employment to the masses while the motor vehicles had been made cheaper to benefit the rich.

Siraj ul Haq said that those expecting progress and prosperity through foreign loans and interest based economy were deceiving themselves as well as the masses.  The economy based on loans was tantamount to playing in the hands of Islam’s enemies and burdening the masses with debt. He said that every new born child was under the debt of Rs. 86,000 while thousands of poor boys were compelled to search for food stuff at the debris. A tiny elite class was enjoying the luxuries of life on the poor mans taxes, he added. He said that the privileged class had been ruling the country for the last 65 years by change of parties, due to which the lot of the poor could not improve.

The JI chief said that the survival and strength of Pakistan was linked with Islam. He said that the constitution of Pakistan declared Islam as the state religion, therefore, those talking of any other system were betraying the constitution.

JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch, said that peace in the country had been destroyed because of terrorism and fresh investment in such a  situation could not be expected. He said that extortion and target killings could not be controlled in Karachi, the mini Pakistan and the economic hub of the country.

Referring to MQM leader Altaf Husain, he said the people wanted to know how could the MQM leader amass such hue amount of money.

Liaqat Baloch criticized Prime Minister for taking his family members in his foreign trips and said this created bad blood in other provinces. He said that the goodwill and confidence of the smaller provinces could be gained through  equitable distribution of the  country’s resources.

Eminent Economist Dr Salman Shah said that the rulers were not ready to cut down unproductive expenditure because of which the country lagged far behind in the race for economic progress even in the developing countries.  He said that sufficient funds had not been allocated for education, health and creation of jobs. He said the rulers were purchasing electricity at high rate only for their commission and added that had the Kalabagh dam been built, electricity would have been available at Rs. One per unit or so.

Ex-Member FBR, Sarfraz Ahmed khan said that the government was levying all taxes on the consumer instead of incomes. About 88 per cent of the Income tax was collected in the form of Withholding tax which was being paid by the rich and the poor equally, he said.