While rejecting the federal budget, the speakers at a seminar Wednesday said that the current budget has been rejected by all segments of the society, saying that even Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's allies, supporters and voters have denounced it.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami, they termed the federal budget 2019-20 a delusional document having no clear direction. They repeatedly said that by studying the budget documents, no one can find on which sector the government has focused on.
The seminar was attended by eminent economists including Dr Shahid Hassan Siddique, former vice chancellor Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Dr Asad Zaman, Dr Mohammad Anwar Khan, Dean Department of Economics, Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad, head of Department of Economics, Islamic International University, President Kissan Ittehad Pakistan and others.
Speaking on the occasion, Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Siraj-ul-Haq said that for the first time in Pakistan's history everyone regardless of party affiliation has unanimously rejected the current budget, adding that it is anti-people and unacceptable for all the segments of economy.
Haq said that the economic stability is a must for political stability, adding that every person in Pakistan is concerned about the economic situation of the country. He said that no country which got loans from International Monetary Fund (IMF) ever became economic power and Pakistan has so far gone for IMF programmes for 22 times.
President Pakistan Kissan Ittehad, Chaudhry Nisar Ahmad said that the government has abolished the incentives and subsidies provided by the former governments to the agriculture sector, instead of providing subsidies and other incentives.
He said that per acre yield of many important crops in Pakistan has witnessed a decline over the years due to multiple factors of which increasing input cost is more serious while the current government instead of taking measures to address the problems being faced by the farmers has put additional burden on the farming community.
Nisar further said that in neighbouring India, the government is providing subsidies on diesel, electricity, pesticides, fertilizers, tractors, seeds and other inputs of agriculture to farmers, while the government in Pakistan is doing the opposite.
Scholar Mohammad Amir said that the PTI before coming into power made tall claims on education budget but after coming into power it has reduced nominal education budget by 20 percent and if impact of rupee depreciation and other factors are included, the government has reduced education budget allocation by 70 percent.
Chief Pakistan Islamic Medical Association Dr Muhammad Afzal said that there is nothing for health sector in the present budget. He said that as per the manifesto of the PTI, the health sector budgetary allocation should have been doubled but surprisingly the government has cut health budget by 20.50 percent.