Government to provide relief to masses in next budget : Siraj ul Haq

Lahore : Ameer,  Jamaat e Islami,  Pakistan, Senator Sirajul Haq, has called upon the government to cut down its expenditure and provide substantial relief to the masses in its last budget.

In a statement here on Wednesday, he stressed that no new tax should be levied in the next budget, the tariff of electricity and gas should be slashed and the POL prices should be kept static.

He called for reasonable raise in the pensions of government, semi government employees besides EOBI pensions. The kisans, workers and non registered labour should be registered and provided basic facilities of education and health and benefits under the Labour laws. Similarly, he said, ad-hoc employments should be ended and all ad hoc employees should be made permanent.

The JI chief said that the government had failed to provide any relief to the people during its four year rule. The masses were crushed under price spiral and were finding it hard to make their both ends meet.

He said that the government had been acquiring huge loans from foreign institutions and every citizen as now under heavy debt. He said the burden of taxes had been increased every year and as many as six taxes were being charged with the electricity bill. This was despite the fact that worst form of load shedding was going on all over the country and the government could not overcome energy crisis so far.

The JI chief pointed out that the government had earlier announced Rs, two billion subsidy as  Ramazan Package but had slashed it to Rs. 1.60 billion and remarked that this was mere pea nut for a population of 200 million. He said that the subsidy should have been at least Rs. Ten billion in the shape of cut in the prices of basic food items, atta, pulses, sugar and rice.

Besides, he said, the prices of all essential items should be kept under control through the  Market committees so that the traders and middlemen could not fleece the consumers.