ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain tweeted a couplet from Saraiki poetry and a photo of opposition leaders and members on Friday to highlight their “humiliating defeat” in the National Assembly the day before.
The couplet was taken from the poetry of Shakir Shuja Abadi, a well-known Saraiki-language poet. “You, Shakir, are a wise person… The couplet approximately translates to “don’t ask for situation, just read our faces.”
توں شاکر آپ سیانا ایں۔۔ ساڈے چہرے پڑہ حالات نہ پچھ:) پارلیمان میں اپوزیشن کو ایک بار پھر شکست انشاللہ 2023 کے انتخابات میں یہ چہرے پارلیمان سے مکمل باہر ہوں گے نون لیگ کا اور زرداری گروپ کا 2023 کا انتخاب آخری انتخاب ثابت ہونا ہے pic.twitter.com/F0xOpEtMzM
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) January 14, 2022
Opposition leaders and members can be seen sitting in melancholy in the photo posted by the minister, after the government was successful in getting vital bills passed from the lower house yesterday.
“Yet another setback for opposition,” Fawad tweeted, expressing hope that opposition leaders would not be in Parliament until the general elections in 2023.
He claimed that the next elections would be the final polls for the “Zardari group” and the “Noon League.”
The government and its allies thumped Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 and SBP Amendment Bill 2021 through the National Assembly on Thursday, ensuring that the IMF’s executive board approves its sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), paving the way for the disbursement of a $1 billion tranche.
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin submitted two bills in parliament last month to implement the Rs375 billion mini-budget and give the central bank autonomy.
In response to the opposition’s questions, the finance minister stated that the finance bill was not intended to impose more taxes, but rather to document the economy in order to increase the tax base.
According to Tarin, the administration has agreed to keep tax exemptions on fundamental necessities like milk, bread, laptops, and solar panels.
The government caved in to pressure from local automakers and raised the sales tax rate on electric vehicles imports to 12.5 percent, up from the initial 5 percent rate proposed when the “mini-budget” was introduced.
It also exempted a few of the country’s wealthiest families from paying 15% income tax.
The government suspended the National Assembly’s rules, which require a minimum of two days of debate on any piece of legislation, and passed the SBP Amendment Bill in a hurried 48-minute session.
The government did, however, allow for a debate on the mini-budget and authorised modest changes to the Sales Tax Act, the Income Tax Act, the Customs Act, and the Federal Excise Duty Act.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had promised not to go to the IMF before accepting the position, stayed in the lower chamber of parliament until midnight to ensure that his disgruntled party members and allies vote to pass both bills to meet the IMF’s criteria.
The plan, which will now be considered by the Senate, allows the central bank to focus on price stability as its primary goal rather than an explicit inflation target.
The new bill gives the SBP autonomy, but neither parliament nor the federal government has the power to fire the governor if the inflation target is not met.
