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ISLAMABAD, (MANEND NEWS): Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has termed the budget as anti-people
and cruel. “Over 400 billion rupees of taxes have been imposed on the
people of Pakistan”, he said.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that
Imran Khan’s government had taxed every household item, utility, and
service used by the people of Pakistan.
“Taxing every phone call, SMS, and internet in the budget and then
walking it back after there is backlash the next day is proof that the
government has no plan, and that it continues to muddle forward at
the cost of the well being of the people of Pakistan,” said Chairman
PPP.
“The Government is also afraid of the public reaction against the heavy
taxes imposed on them.”
Meanwhile talking to media persons after visiting senior PPP leader and
former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa senior minister Rahim Dad Khan I n
Mardan, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has rejected the budget, deeming it
blatant theft from the public in the name of taxes, and warned that he
would continue to expose the anti-people economic measures of Imran
Khan.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the PPP is a galaxy of political stars
which has struggled with Benazir Bhutto, President Asif Ali Zardari and
now with me for democracy and rule of law in this country. In this
regard I have come to see Rahim Dad Khan who has been a comrade
in this struggle.
Bilawal Bhutto said that in this government inflation is at the highest
and historical level and is more than even Afghanistan. Under this
government the employment is also at the historic level and the
poverty is more than ever before. This is the real face of Imran Khan’s
“change”. He said that Imran Khan and his ministers are so
embarrassed by this poverty and unemployment that they have
excluded them from the economic survey of Pakistan. The worst news
is that the most increase in poverty has been in KP. We are aware that
with the arrival of Imran Khan, previously employed people are now
unemployed and hiding the figures will not solve the issue. Only the
PPP can give a manifesto meant for the common people, and its policy
has always been pro-people. The PPP government during its tenure
made a 120% increase in the salaries of government employees, a
150% increase in pensions and a 175% increase in the salaries of the
soldiers. As opposed to this, the current incompetent government has
only made a 10% increase in salaries. This government should
increase salaries in proportion to the increase in inflation caused by it
in the country.
The Sindh government is going to keep Rs. 25000 as the minimum
wage. If this initiative can be taken by us, then the other provinces
and the federal government can follow suit since they have more
resources than us. The nation is facing a crisis due to the incompetent
rulers. If the rulers want the budget to be passed, then they should
increase the salaries as much as they have increased price hike.
The federal government is making efforts to rig the elections in
Kashmir. The election commissioner of Azad Kashmir, conspiring with
the AJK prime minister has tried to tamper with the electoral list. They
think that by creating fake NAB cases and arresting PPP supporters,
they can seal our tongue, however, it amounts to nothing as it has not
been successful in the past and neither will be in the future. PPP
workers have faced terrorists and military dictators, and will also chase
the current rulers away. Khursheed Shah’s son Farrukh Shah has also
been arrested as a means of threatening my party, he said.
They should keep in mind that when I come to power, I will rightfully
arrest their sons and elders too and will show what real accountability
is, that does not harm the common people. We will work for the
economic prosperity of the people. Whatever rights KP has today are
because of PPP, the KP did not get its share in Hydal profit. He said
that the federal government is collecting tobacco tax which is the right
of the people of KP and should be spent in KP.
Responding to the questions by the journalists, he said that the PPP is
aware that in the 1985 elections, apolitical entities came to power and
destroyed Pakistan. This is why, I was telling the “new revolutionary”
not to leave the field open for Imran Khan. If we had accepted their
demands then today Imran Khan would have a super majority in the
Senate. If we had not contested in the elections in Noushera there
would be no MNA from the area from PML-N and there would be no
MNA of PPP from Karachi. We refuse to learn from others how
antidemocratic forces should be fought with and won against. Only PPP
knows how to fight democratically. Everyone knows that the PPP will
form the next government and the next prime minister will be a jiyala.
Responding to a question about PDM, Bilawal Bhutto said that without
PPP and ANP the PDM is neither an all Pakistan movement nor a
democratic one. He said that the entire opposition is on one page in
the parliament. He said that a grave injustice was done to the people
of FATA and the promises made to them were not fulfilled. There is a
protest taking place there and Farhatullah Babar represented PPP
there. We will not leave the tribal areas at the mercy of this
government. The 2018 elections were rigged and notice should be
taken of who interferes in the elections. The election in Karachi
validated our stance on the 2018 elections being rigged. He said that
the government and its ministers should not involve the judiciary in
politics and the Supreme Court should have taken action against the
president and the prime minister along with those who filed a fake and
fabricated reference against Qazi Faez Isa. There should be action
against those who were spying on a justice of the Supreme Court.
Regarding rejoining the PDM, he said that the PPP never requested to
rejoin the PDM and does not wish to do so. They were obsessed with
the resignations so if they want to tender them, they can still do so.
Now, they are towing on the PPP stance and policy, so they should join
the PPP.