Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Friday issued a white paper against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and said the government has missed almost all the targets relating to tax collection, growth, exports, employment, borrowing and inflation, and deviated from all promises made with the nation before the general election 2018.
Central Secretary Finance PPP Pir Haider Zaman Qureshi and PPP-P Secretary Information Dr Nafisa Shah presented the white paper against the PTI government here at a press conference.
According to the white paper, "Almost all sectors of the economy decelerated. The factories were shutting down leading to de-industrialisation and commodities production of sugar, wheat and cotton came down in Naya Pakistan. Net foreign direct investment has also declined by 51 percent to $1.273 billion in the first nine months of the current financial year as against $2.62 billion during the corresponding period of the last year.
"In one year the rupee lost nearly 25 percent of its value from Rs 125 to 160. This has added to the overall debt burden of Pakistan. The depreciation was haphazard and ad hoc, leading to the economic instability in the country. In one year of PTI government, the stock market lost nearly 25 percent of its value sliding from 42,900 points to 32,000. The stock market is generally considered a barometer of economic activity, and this huge loss indicates how badly managed the economy was."
The white paper further said, "In 2018-19, budgeted expenditures witnessed Rs 449 billion surge despite the adoption of austerity measures by the government. But austerity in tandem with poor fiscal management seems to have cost the country its developmental progress largely, where the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) saw a 32 percent decrease during fiscal year 2018-19, and 'General Public Services' expenditure registered a 21 percent increase in the backdrop of increase in debt servicing, driven by abrupt borrowing and a devalued rupee. Expenditure on 'Economic Affairs' witnessed a 75 percent increase than budgeted while 'recreation, culture and religion' expenditures saw an increase of 14 percent during the year.
"Cumulatively, the impact of missed revenue targets and inflated expenditures has resulted in a 27 percent increase in fiscal deficit in 2018-19. Is this an indication of ill-planned austerity, poor fiscal management and weaker oversight and control over expenditures or are previous regimes to be blamed for this? The treasury benches need to explain these arbitrary trends in spending and collection trends in light of the promises made under the banner of Tabdeeli."
About the Inflation, the white paper described that "according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), prices of general and non-food items have dramatically increased during PTI's one year in office and inflation has soared from 5.84 to 10.83 percent. The inflation is now in double digits. The prices of all basic commodities like wheat and sugar have risen and in many cases sky-rocketed, forcing people in vicious poverty trap.
When PTI government took power, petrol price was Rs 95 per litre. Today they are nearly Rs 117 per litre which is about 24 per cent increase. Ironically international oil prices have gone down by 10 percent.
In its outlook for 2019-20, the World Bank forecast the crude oil prices hovering around $67 per barrel. At present, government is charging 17 percent sales tax on all products. The federal government is charging Rs 18 per litre petroleum levy on HSD, Rs 15 per litre on petrol, Rs 6 per litre on kerosene oil and Rs 3 per litre on LDO.
The PTI government increased the prices of medicines by 200 percent and despite changing the advisor for health halfway, the prices of medicines saw no decrease. This was to be the biggest jump in the past ten years, making it difficult for the common man to survive.
The past one year has witnessed more than 600 percent increase in gas prices, and more than 30 percent increase in electricity bills which has broken the back of the poor and the middle class in Pakistan. The only announcement that comes each month is either an increase in gas bills or electricity bills. This has made businesses uneconomical and daily lives of the people miserable.
The PTI government promised 5 million houses in 5 years. After one year, it should have at least built one million houses. "Instead we have seen razing of homes, shops, and plazas in the name of encroachment removals in Karachi and Islamabad. Till this date, we have seen several launches of Naya Pakistan housing but have not seen a single house on the ground. It is also not clear who will be building these houses, and how resources have been organised for the purpose."
With GDP down to less than four percent, there is no way the government could provide ten million jobs. Instead as is estimated by economists that with every one percent decrease in growth, about 800,000 jobs are lost. Using this estimate Imran Khan's 'Tabahi' government has probably led to loss of nearly 2 million jobs.
About exports of the country, PPP white paper against the PTI government explained that "despite narrowing of our high current account deficit due to massive depreciation of rupee, the growth in our exports of around 1.6 percent has been negligible." The tightening of the fiscal and monetary policies has sharply lowered the GDP growth rate, thereby, aggravating poverty and increasing unemployment in the country. The inflation has once again entered the double-digit territory. Contrary to PTI's pre-election promises, government's current expenditure has increased while that on development, especially on education, health and infrastructure, has registered a marked decline.
About debt, white paper said that contrary to the "selected" PM's claim of not taking any more debt, the PTI has borrowed heavily and will perhaps be the heaviest borrower in Pakistan's history.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan's public debt increased to Rs 27.1 trillion by the end of January 2019, that is, an increase of Rs 2.4 trillion in just five months since August 2018. This is more than double the rate of increase in the public debt recorded during the tenure of the previous PML (N) government. If the impact of devaluation of the rupee is added, and the increase in interest rate, then the overall impact on debt burden is more than 7.2 trillion, which is the largest that any previous government has borrowed.
About increasing share of indirect taxes in the revenue pool, the white paper said, "When in opposition, former finance minister Asad Umar was one of the most vocal voices in the Parliament against the growing incidence of indirect taxation over the past decade and its socioeconomic impact. In its first budget, the government plans to raise 64.3 percent of revenues via indirect taxes in comparison with 62.3 percent in the revised budgeted estimates for 2018-19, 2 percent increase from the previous year. The resulting impact coupled with the growing inflation and the change in income tax structure will impact the middle and lower classes even more adversely than in the past."
In the fiscal year 2018-19, a massive Rs 495 billion shortfall in total revenues was recorded where targets were missed on all budgeted revenue heads except customs duty and FED. Yet, without a reform plan, the government has set an ambitious revenue target of a 32 percent year-on-year increase when the actual collection in the outgoing fiscal year is 10 percent less than the actual budget targets.
The white paper further says, "During the election campaign, the selected Prime Minister had asserted that his political party will not go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan. This appealed to PTI's nationalist base, which desires independence from foreign actors such as international institutions. Conventional wisdom dictated that an IMF loan would be needed since the country's foreign exchange reserves had fallen to alarming levels. However, having repeatedly targeted and rejected the previous government's economic policies, which included seeking an IMF loan, the PTI could not afford to go to the IMF immediately after winning the election. The party was also concerned that the austerity measures that would accompany such a loan would make it difficult to carry out the ambitious social welfare programmes they had promised the country. Under the PTI government, inflation has skyrocketed to over 10 percent, the highest in five years, and foreign direct investment dropped significantly, and thus, there was no choice but to approach the IMF for a bailout. However, in the end the PTI government bent over backwards to accept all IMF conditions to the extent that even the State Bank governor seemed to be appointed with IMF negotiations in mind. Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari termed them as the PTIMF government and budget to highlight how weak the government was with regard to IMF conditions."
According to white paper, about the economic growth of the country a report by a UN Commission puts Pakistan's GDP growth at 4.2 percent in 2019 and 4 percent in 2020 compared to Bangladesh's 7.3 pc, India's 7.5 percent, and the Maldives' and Nepal's 6.5 percent each in 2019. The pre-election claims of PTI experts having conducted thorough studies of the country's economic problems and thrashed out solutions have turned out to be a part of an elaborate hoax. In fact this year's growth is estimated to even less than 4 percent.
According to white paper about the accountability, under the garb of accountability, the PTI government is making an absolute mockery of the growing democracy in Pakistan and is targeting its political rivals presenting itself as a classic/de facto martial law regime. Two former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, are in jail and one former President, Asif Ali Zardari is also in jail. In fact accountability process will clearly appear questionable if its radar is unable to catch Peshawar BRT and other projects. More egregious is the closing of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Ehtesab Bureau after an expenditure on nearly a billion rupees and no action on the corrupt in the PTI ranks, further exposing their double standard.
The selected government has also set new bars of political victimisation by targeting women leaders. While Imran Khan's sister who confessed to her undeclared properties in Dubai and US roams free, Faryal Talpur who is fighting her case as per law was not only taken in NAB custody, she was sent on a judicial remand illegally and against the doctor's advice. Similarly Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested on her visit to see her father in prison. These acts were not only a gross face of dirty victimisation campaign but they were also inhuman and unlawful.
According to white paper of PPP, Imran Khan's campaign on corruption itself is based on double standard, and an eyewash as almost every member in his cabinet has skeletons in his or her cupboard. His cabinet and his advisors comprise turncoats, insider traders, benami account holders, loan defaulters, fake degree holders, and those accused of assassination of none other than Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
The paper further described that the use of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as the means through which opposition parties are being witch hunted has no prior precedents. The accountability bureau has now become a victimisation bureau.
The paper further described that under the 18th amendment, constitutional changes entailed regular meetings of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on subjects that both the federation and the provinces shared. However hardly any consultation with the provinces is taking place nor are meetings of the CCI or the NFC award which would determine fair and transparent distribution of resources. In the first year of the PTI government, Sindh government was deprived of more than Rs 120 billion of its share from the divisible pool, which led to halting of development work.
The white paper says that PTI violated all promises committed before election to resolve the problems of drinking water, garbage, transport and draining system of Karachi. It says that PTI government promised a transformative Karachi package, made an announcement of Rs 165 billion but so far no practical work is to be seen on the ground. The only work visible is picking up garbage and dumping it in a Cricket ground and gross publicity stunts by Fix It vigilantes. Federal commitments on K4, S3, or the Greenline Project are still to be realised as federal government held back the funds it promised to Karachi.
The PTI government also failed to bring reforms in police system by instituting independent policing making the police free from political influence. Instead, one of the first scandals to hit the Tabdeeli government came with the first lady's relative ordering a transfer of a police officer who did not oblige in Pakpattan. This was followed up by transfer of an Inspector General, Punjab, and later Inspector General, Islamabad.
About Tabahi (destruction) of Railways, in the past one year, the Ministry of Railways became a "Ministry of Train Wrecks." Just in one year these accidents totalled 80 and led to a loss of Rs 2 billion. Despite promises that his Railway Minister would resign if there was an accident despite numerous opportunities in the form of train accidents Minister Railways has yet to implement the wishes of the Prime Minister.
According to white paper about agriculture sector, PTI promised an agriculture emergency, increased access to subsidised finance, launching plans to increase milk and meat production. But the only gift they have given to the farmer is to take away their only subsidy to farm inputs and increased the prices of DAP and urea which coupled with a water crisis threatens the livelihoods of the farmers.
There is also no commitment in sight to providing subsidised inputs, or credit, nor any facility to promote agriculture as they had previously promised.
The government's 100-day plan initiative to both transform the agriculture produce and introduce a programme to revamp livestock sector remains unfulfilled.
In his second PTV style address, PM Imran Khan announced to build the dam by collecting donations taking forward the idea floated by the Chief Justice. One year later not only that the Diamer Bhasha dam is no where to be seen, even on paper or in Imran Khan's rhetoric, the billions of rupees of funds have also suffered a blow as instead of depositing the money in a savings account, the government kept the money in a current account and that too has found no disposal.
About the right of freedom of expression and information, Imran Khan's one year witnessed a rule of absolutism as media freedoms, judicial independence and across the board accountability were undermined.
Media watchdogs and independent journalism forums are terming PTI government as a fascist regime hiding behind censorship.
About performance of Parliament and legislation, the white paper says that in one year, Pakistan's parliament has not been able to perform its basic functions of legislations. Today, the committees are at a standstill, parliamentary sessions are called, and then called off. Law making has been put on the back burner and government's stranglehold on the parliament is complete making it more of a rubber stamp forum. As a matter of fact the only step the parliament has taken is banning the word 'Selected' in the National Assembly.
About justice, the PPP white paper described that after one year the systems of justice have become controversial as a result of one sided accountability, random arrests and failure for the judiciary to protect fundamental rights of the citizens.
About Foreign Policy, Pakistan's foreign policy has seen car driving, begging bowl missions, wishes for Modi win, missed calls, but all these have failed to elevate Pakistan's status in the region or in the world.
There is growing concern that like General Musharraf, selected Prime Minister Imran Khan may be making sudden U-turns on Pakistan's foreign policy contours, with Imran Khan's visit to the US only adding more fodder to these concerns.
"While we support a policy of engagement, peace initiatives in the region especially Afghanistan, PPP considers that Pakistan's friendship with its time-tested friends like China must never be compromised."
The recent Indian unilateral action on Kashmir has met with an unsatisfactory diplomatic response by the government which has dented Pakistan's longstanding and principled position on the issue of Kashmir. Today Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Kashmir are facing unending curfews, thousands are missing or under arrest and all channels of communication have been blocked. The PPP has called for an aggressive diplomatic offensive by Pakistan's foreign office to expose Indian atrocities and human rights violations bordering on ethnic cleansing.
Haider Zaman Qureshi and Dr Nafisa Shah said that none of the slogans of the selected Prime Minister's bombastic Tabdeeli or change have seen the light of the day. And not only its 100 days plan, but also its theatrical plan released after 100 days of its tenure remains incomplete, patchy and just a pipedream, they said.
They said that in order to silence the people, Imran Khan's one-year achievement is to gag the media, silence the judges, water-canon citizens daring to protest and persecute the opposition by imprisonment of its leaders. In fact, that is perhaps the only sinister implementation of his promise - of witch hunting the political leaders in the name of accountability, they said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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