Pakistan economy under great pressure: Ishaq Dar
'Pakistan Times' Federal Bureau

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance, Economic affairs and Revenues Senator Ishaq Dar on Monday told the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that Pakistan’s economy was under great pressure.

He said unfortunate rise in oil prices, various subsidies given by the previous government and withholding of payments on various counts had aggravated the economic situation.

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue and Economic Affairs and Statistics met here in the Parliament House under the Chairmanship of Senator Ahmed Ali.

The committee observed that the economy was undoubtedly under pressure and all possible steps aimed at increasing revenues form hitherto untapped resources must be taken with a view to achieve the objective of taking the country forward, said a statement issued after the meeting.

The panel suggested that tax anomalies should be removed and ways and means be found to crate employment opportunities and give relief to the common man.

The committee directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to study and respond to the proposals put forward by various stake holders such as Chambers of Commerce and Industry and stock Exchanges.

Ishaq Dar said revenue generation was stagnant and the country’s GDP was one of the lowest in the region.

“We want to prepare budget for the poor people and not for the elite class; we have to reduce unemployment and take the country forward” he said.

The Minister said he would present a very transparent and factual statement on the state of economy before the parliament as well as in its relevant committees.

He said that the former finance minister-prime minister would be invited to the meetings to ascertain his views on the state of the economy.

The Finance Minister assured the committee that in Budget 2008-09 emphasis would be laid on manufacturing industry and agriculture.

The Chairman of the Committee senator Ahmed Ali underlined the need to increase resources and income with a view to take the country forward.

He impressed upon the need for not making negative statements about the state of economy so that the flow of capital in the county goes on unhindered.

The Chairman of the committee endorsed the idea of presentation of the blueprint of the budget proposals in the Parliament well in time and suggested that the same should be presented at least 2 to 3 months ahead of actual presentation of the budget.

The Members of the Committee expressed the view that “we must not subject economy to politics. Instead, we should focus on increasing our revenue from hitherto untapped resources”.

They vowed to extend fullest support to the Government for achieving the objective of taking the country forward.

It was suggested that pre-budget sessions of the two houses should be convened to take input form the members for incorporation of viable recommendations in the budget proposals.

It was suggested that “we must find ways and means not only to give relief to the poor man but also to create employment opportunities in the country”.

The Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue M. Abdullah Yousaf assured the Committee that the proposals put forward in the meeting will be duly taken care of.

He said that the FBR as per past practices is initiating interaction with all the stake holders and what is doable will be done.

The Chairman stated that FBR would welcome the proposals and recommendations of the Committee.

He assured that the recommendations would be definitely given due consideration.

The meeting was attended, besides the Chairman of the Committee Senator Ahmed Ali and the Minister for Finance by senators Ch. Muhammad Anwar Bhinder, Nisar A. Memon, Pari Gul Agha, Dr. Khalid Soomro, Dr. Safdar Ali Abbasi and Haroon Akhtar, Chairman FBR Abdullah Yousuf, senior functionaries of the Ministry of Finance, FBR and the representatives of the FPCCI, KCI, LCCI, ICCI, KSE, ISE and SECP were also present.●