Federal Budget 2010-11 has ignored the well-being of 98% deprived people
It has been devised to benefit already privileged classes of the country… Dr.Farooq Sattar

Islamabad…June 5, 2010:- The current budget like the previous budgets of Pakistan is a stereotype budget that has been devised to benefit already privileged classes of the country. It has ignored the well-being of 98% deprived people of Pakistan. This was stated by Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Parliamentary Leader of MQM in the National Assembly Dr. Farooq Sattar while talking to the media persons outside the Parliament House just after the announcement of Federal Budget 2010-11.The Minister said that in the new budget once again no tax has been imposed on the big land lords and feudals despite the fact that Rs. 300 billion can be collected from them by imposition the tax on the agriculture income. Adding insult to the injury the policy of support prices on agricultural produce to siphon out Rs. 400 billion from the national kitty into the coffers of big feudal lords has not been changed. No measures have been announced to prevent the misuse of Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) policy, which could have yielded at least Rs. 100 billion to the country’s revenues. Moreover, hundreds of billions of rupees (Rs. 400 billion) are being wasted in the name of subsidies in big corporations, like PIA, WAPDA, Railways and Pakistan Steels. Instead of making these white elephants into profitable institutions through economic and administrative reforms, every year billions of rupees are injected in them without any signs of their recovery in their financial position. He said that government is constantly putting more pressure on the poor masses, moreover than 50% of them are already living below the poverty line, through enhancement of utility bills and the rate of GST. Moreover, they would have to bear the burden of Value Added Tax (VAT) in October this year. He added that no measures, like distribution of land among peasants and small farmers, micro-finance schemes in large scale, promotion of cooperative farming, domestic and cottage industry, low-cost housing schemes, public-private partnership ventures, etc. have been introduced for tacking the issues of price hike, inflation and unemployment, which are severely affecting the common man.He stated that the MQM parliamentarians and Central Coordination Committee would thoroughly go through the budget proposals and would decide the future plan of action, whether MQM would be part of process of exploitation of poor masses or not.