DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Dr Saif, has accused the federal government of “dropping a petrol bomb” on the public ahead of the new fiscal year.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday, Dr Saif said the federal budget had imposed an additional 2.5 per cent tax on petroleum products, warning that prices would soar once the new financial year begins in July. “With every rise in fuel prices, the cost of essential food items also shoots up,” he added.
Calling the national budget “anti-poor and pro-elite,” the adviser claimed that the Punjab budget followed the same pattern, “completely ignoring” the agricultural sector and offering no relief to farmers. He said that flawed federal policies had already cost Punjab’s cultivators an estimated Rs 2,200 billion, while only “commission-driven” projects received priority.
He said that, unlike Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab had “failed to muster the courage” to provide free healthcare. “If Punjab faces difficulty in extending health facilities, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands ready to assist,” he added.
Dr Saif warned that the taxes and levies on petroleum products, along with surcharges on electricity, would unleash “a new wave of inflation” in the coming fiscal year. “The poor will be crushed in the mill of rising prices while the wealthy will continue to indulge,” he added, alleging that the budget was framed to protect elite interests and offered “nothing” for low-income citizens.
He said the provincial government had presented a tax-free, welfare-oriented budget in line with former prime minister Imran Khan’s vision, prioritising social-sector schemes under the leadership of the chief minister.
