Announces Ehsaas cash disbursement to be increased to Rs14,000 | tax exemption for IT sector
\n ISLAMABAD
\nAt a time when crude oil prices are setting new highs, Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to slash prices of petroleum products and electricity to provide relief to the poverty-stricken people.
\nIn his 40-minute address to the nation on Monday, the prime minister said that prices of petrol and diesel will be reduced by Rs10 per litre and electricity by Rs5 per unit. \u201cWe are anticipating that oil prices will not go down amid the Ukraine crisis\u2026 so instead of increasing their prices we have decided to slash petrol and diesel by Rs10 per litre,\u201d he said.
\nHe said the government is working on building 10 dams that would help save Pakistan from global price fluctuation as power would be generated through the hydel system in future.
\nHe said the government has also decided to increase the Ehsaas programme\u2019s cash handouts from Rs12,000 to Rs14,000 and added that jobless graduates would be awarded internships and a stipend of Rs30,000. Moreover, 26,000 scholarships \u2014 costing Rs38 billion \u2014 will be given to students, he said.
\nThe premier announced a complete tax exemption for the IT sector \u2014 companies and freelancers \u2014 adding that no foreign exchange restriction will be imposed on them. Moreover, IT startups will no longer have to pay capital gains tax.
\nTalking about industries, the PM said the people seeking to install industries or invest in the country would not be \u201casked any questions,\u201d and a package would be announced later. He also said overseas Pakistanis eyeing to invest in local industries will be given a five-year tax exemption.
\nHe said his recent visit to Russia was aimed at strengthening economic ties. He also briefly touched on his visit to China where attended the Beijing Olympics, saying the result of the visit will be visible with the start of the CPEC second phase. He further said his recent visits to China and Russia will have a far-reaching impact on the country\u2019s economy.
\nThe prime minister said, \u201cWe are going to import two million tonnes of wheat from Russia as well as striking a gas agreement, while we have better understanding on the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.\u201d
\nThe prime minister said that he believes in an independent policy in the best interest of the people of Pakistan. \u201cI always wanted Pakistan to pursue an independent foreign policy that should be in the country\u2019s interest,\u201d the PM said. He urged the people to not vote for a party whose leader is involved in corruption as such a party cannot pursue an independent foreign policy.
\nHe said when Pakistan joined the US war on terror during former military ruler Pervez Musharraf era, the country paid heavy price in terms of economic and human losses. \u201cI always opposed that Pakistan had nothing to do with the US war in Afghanistan.\u201d
\nHe while referring to the PPP and the PML-N governments said: \u201cBoth the democratic governments remained tight-lipped when the US was carrying drone strikes in Pakistan… even [former president] Zardari told one US official that \u2018we did not care about collateral damage\u2019.\u201d As many as 80,000 Pakistanis were martyred, 3.5 million people were displaced, and the country suffered losses worth $150 billion, he added.
\nThe prime minister said the incumbent government was praised by the World Bank (WB), World Economic Forum (WEF), and the World Health Organisation (WHO). \u201cIf our government was so inept \u2014 as dubbed by the Opposition \u2014 then why would world institutions praise us. Even Bill Gates, when he came to Pakistan, also applauded the government,\u201d he said.
\nHe said the WB had termed Ehsaas Programme among the top four programmes across the globe that worked for providing relief to the people. The prime minister said Pakistan recorded a historic tax recovery during the previous fiscal year, which was also a 31% increase in the tax collection.
\n\u201cDuring the pandemic, no other country could have imagined breaking tax collection targets like we did, as we recovered more than 6,000 billion worth of taxes.\u201d
\nMoving towards the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA) law, the prime minister said it was enacted in 2016, and the incumbent government has only made amendments to it. \u201cA head of state who has not been involved in any type of corruption is not scared of the media,\u201d the prime minister said, turning down notions that the government is attempting to muzzle the media.
\nHe said some journalists resorted to mudslinging when it came to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, accusing that the funds raised by the hospital were used to fund the PTI. \u201cThere are journalists who accept bribes and publish filth [against the government],\u201d he stressed, claiming that the type of news stories published in Pakistani media cannot be \u201creported in any other democracy of the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
Good journalism is an asset for society and only criticism helps governments improve, but resorting to mudslinging and saying filthy things about women should be stopped, he added. TLTP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Announces Ehsaas cash disbursement to be increased to Rs14,000 | tax exemption for IT sector ISLAMABAD At a time when crude oil prices are setting new highs, Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to slash prices of petroleum products and electricity to provide relief to the poverty-stricken people. In his 40-minute address to the nation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-246927","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n