Senate body on finance deliberates on pre-budget proposals

ISLAMABAD INp

A meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue held here at Parliament House on Tuesday with Senator Saleem Mandviwalla in chair deliberated on the various prebudget proposals put forwarded by different stakeholders.

The meeting was attended by Senator Saadia Abbasi, Senator Dilawar Khan, Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Mohsin Aziz (via phone call), State Minister for Finance and Revenue Dr.

Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Chairman FBR

Asim Ahmad, Special Secretary Finance Division Hamed Yaqoob Shiekh, CEO PBC Ehsan Malik and Presidents of various chamber of commerce and industries were also in attendance.

CEO Pakistan Business Council, Ehsan Malik apprised that 100 of the most prominent business of the country are generating 40pc export, in addition to its 20pc share in GDP and approximately 56 pc tax have been collected from it. He suggested that equitable tax regime should be initiated, besides providing ease of doing business and reducing the manufacturing cost. Representatives of Chamber of Commerce and Industries unanimously underscored the need of broadening the tax base of the country and demanded that super tax ranging from 1 to 10 pc on different affluent individuals and companies should be withdrawn. They also highlighted the need of revisiting the Pak-Afghan transit. Dr. Khurram Tariq, President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries, maintained that the small business, having turnover of around 150 million rupees should be exempted from computerised balloting audit for sales tax, and an audit of said businesses should be completed within six months instead of preceding for five years. He apprised that the measures will help the small business to flourish and eventually it will enhancing their productive contributions.

However, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries, mentioned that the industries located in the erstwhile FATA are currently exempted from sales tax and the concession is putting steel industries, located in settled areas at great disadvantage. He suggested that an equitable environment should be created by withdrawing the said exemption so that the industries of both sides could flourish at same pace.

Representatives of Karachi chamber of commerce and industries stated that 3 pc value added tax which is being charged on raw materials at import stage is unjustifiable and it should be revisited. They also apprised that major bulk of buyers in the country are unregistered and provision of CNIC on supplies to unregistered persons has become a major hurdle in business transactions. Above all, 3 pc further tax is being imposed on the registered supplier on the provision of buyer CNIC, they added. They suggested that 3pc further tax on the registered sellers is not based on rationale and it should be revoked.

Furthermore, representatives of coca cola beverages apprised that Pakistan is second country after the Saudia Arabia where beverages are highly charged and the recent increase in Federal Excise Duty (FED) has reduced the sale around 25pc. They suggested that FED on beverages should be reduced by 4 pc which is currently stands at 20 pc.

Afaq Ahmad Qureshi, Member FBR, apprised that the recommendations of all stakeholders have been received and FBR has initiated deliberations on the said proposals and will inform the standing committee accordingly.

Militants kill six at energy plant in Hangu

PESHAWAR

ReuteRS

Unidentified militants stormed a natural gas and oil extraction plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, killing four police and two private guards, police said. The attack by up to 50 militants took place at a plant run by the MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Company in the Thall tehsil of Hangu district near the Afghanistan border, Irfan Khan, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), said. No group has claimed responsibility. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Police said the militants targeted two wells — M-8 and M-10 — with heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades.

“The security guards at M-8 repulsed the terrorists’ attack but the casualties took place at M-10,” said Khan.

The militants also damaged a solar power plant at the gas power plant before fleeing to adjoining North Waziristan, where they had come from, he said. Various militant factions, including the Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan (TTP), have operated for years out of remote mountains in the northwest, launching attacks on security forces and infrastructure in their campaign against the state. adding that documents regarding the AlQadir Trust would be available with the chief finance officer (CFO).

“Pakistan’s oil and gas production has been falling continuously. Oil production is down 18 percent in FY22 from FY-19; while gas is down 14 percent in the same period,” says Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities. He said no major discoveries were made in recent years, largely due to the security situation, circular debt, and lack of local technical expertise.

“The country has exploited much of the existing producing areas but [is] not able to explore belts near the Afghan border due to the security situation,” added Rauf. Rauf said that foreign investment and exploration activity was picking up in the Waziristan belt, however, the situation has worsened since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Foreign companies have been exiting for past many years, while Pakistan lacks the expertise and funds to tap unconventional reserves despite having one of the highest shale reserves in the world,” he added.

“In this respect … [CFO] informs me that he has already provided you (NAB) with the bulk of the documents mentioned in your call-up notice. Accordingly, you may kindly check your record before issuing me a fresh call-up notice as requested,” Imran said.

He also termed the case “politically motivated”. “Your (NAB) allegation that a call-up notice dated 02-03-2023 was earlier issued to me, but I neither joined the inquiry nor provided documents specified therein … This allegation is absolutely false and contumaciously malicious,” he said and added during the entire course of the inquiry, NAB sent only one call-up notice which was promptly responded to.

“Thereafter, you neither sent me any further call-up notice during the inquiry, nor did you refute the purely legal objections … ,” he added.

He said the NAB purportedly completed the inquiry and converted it into an investigation on April 28, but he was not provided with a copy of the inquiry report. The PTI chairman accused the accountability watchdog of playing an “instrumental [role] in my abduction”.

He said he was present in the high court to file a plea seeking a court order to acquire a copy of the investigation report, but he was taken into custody. “You, after taking me into custody pursuant to my illegal arrest, delivered to me a copy of the said inquiry report,” he said in response to the notice.

Govt plans ‘alternative strategy’ to tackle economic woes

PROFIT Staff RepoRt

Power Minister Khurram Dastgir has revealed that the government will unveil an “alternative strategy” to address Pakistan’s economic challenges and the perceived assault on the nation before the budget presentation on June 9. Dastgir made this announcement on a local news show on Tuesday amid reports that reaching an IMF staff-level agreement for a $1.1 billion tranche is unlikely. Pakistan has been waiting for the release of a $1.1 billion tranche from a $6.5 billion IMF package since November, the longest delay since 2008. The IMF stated that significant additional financing is required for the successful completion of the stalled ninth review of the bailout package to resolve the balance of payments crisis. While the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China have pledged funds, the IMF’s recent statement indicates the need for more funding. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar previously assured that Pakistan would not default, but Dastgir’s remarks suggest the government is considering an alternative plan. Dastgir accused Imran Khan and his supporters of a “fascist assault” on Pakistan, alleging their deliberate efforts to harm the economy. The prime minister and finance minister are expected to announce the alternative strategy to address economic troubles and the perceived assault.

Imran’s wife secures pre-arrest bail in land dispute

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

Bushra Maneka, the wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, has been granted pre-arrest bail in a land dispute case involving a property tycoon by the accountability court. The hearing of the case took place in the Islamabad Accountability Court, presided over by Judge Muhammad Bashir. The accountability court approved Maneka’s pre-arrest bail plea until May 31 and directed her to submit a surety bond of Rs500,000. The court also issued a notice to the investigating officer to continue the investigation and scrutinise the evidence. It should be noted that the Lahore High Court (LHC) had previously granted the former first lady security bail until May 23 and directed her to approach the relevant court by the given date. During the court proceedings, Bushra Bibi, accompanied by her defense lawyer Khawaja Haris Ahmad, requested a 10-day protective bail. The court accepted the request and granted her bail until May 23.

Bilawal says India ‘abusing’ G20 with occupied Kashmir meet

ISLAMABAD

Afp

India is “abusing” its presidency of the G20 by holding a tourism conference in the portion of disputed Kashmir it occupies, Foreign Minister Bilawal BhuttoZardari told AFP.

It is the first diplomatic event in the territory since Pakistan suspended trade and diplomatic ties with India in 2019, when New Delhi imposed direct rule on the part of Muslim-majority Kashmir it occupied and enforced a heavy security lockdown.

“I wish I could say I was surprised, but I think that this is a continuation in what is becoming a norm now, of India’s arrogance on the international stage,” he told AFP in a Monday interview in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“They’re abusing their presidency of the G20 to push their colonial agenda, but if they think that by holding one event in occupied Kashmir they can silence the voice of the Kashmiri people, then I believe that they are truly mistaken.”

The Indian-occupied portion has been roiled for decades by a freedom movement seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, with tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and Kashmiri armed men killed in the conflict. Non-G20 member Pakistan has a smaller part, and says holding the tourism meeting from Monday to Wednesday in the territory violates international law, UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements. The G20 participants — made up of the European Union and the world’s 19 top economies — have been “put in a pretty awkward spot”, said the 34-yearold Bhutto Zardari.

“Those countries who make it a to remind us and protest how outrageous it is that international law has been violated in Europe:

I believe that they should be just as outraged when international law is violated in Kashmir,” he said, in a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

China, which also claims the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in full as part of Tibet, has stood by Pakistan in condemning the meeting to promote tourism in the area — renowned for its lakes, meadows and snowcapped mountains.

Muslim nations Saudi Arabia and Turkey are not sending government representation, while some Western countries have scaled back their presence, according to reports.

‘PATIENT PEOPLE’

India is attempting to portray what officials have called “normalcy and peace” in the violence-wracked region by inviting the international community to a sprawling, wellguarded venue on the shores of Dal Lake in Srinagar.

Over the past week, residents have chafed under stepped-up security measures. Hundreds have been detained in police stations and thousands including shopkeepers have received calls from officials warning them against any “signs of protest or trouble”.

“One of the most militarised zones in the world can never be seen as normal,” said Bhutto Zardari.