Shahid Khaqan Abbasi declares budget as ‘worst’ in country’s history

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has declared the budget as the worst one in country’s history.

Addressing a press conference along with former finance minister Miftah Ismail on Monday, he said that the entire burden had been shifted onto the salaried class.

“A tax has also been imposed on importers. The government has neither reduced its expenditures nor apprehended the smuggling and cigarettes mafias,” he added.

He questioned the finance minister how he will defend these decisions. “The economy will be destroyed if such budget was imposed,” he added.

The former prime minister said that there was no room for doling out Rs500 billion to parliamentarians. “The government has given tax exemption to the industries in FATA under pressure. The people of those areas will not benefit from it,” he maintained.

Speaking on the occasion, former finance minister Miftah Ismail said that the IMF had asked the government to give tax exemption to the FATA industries, not to subject the middle class to exploitation.

“How can a country move ahead if taxes are not received from the powerful sections? The country will only advance after introducing reforms,” he added.