DLP Report
\nPESHAWAR
\nAdviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Dr Saif, has accused the federal government of \u201cdropping a petrol bomb\u201d on the public ahead of the new fiscal year.
\nIn 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. \u201cWith every rise in fuel prices, the cost of essential food items also shoots up,\u201d he added.
\nCalling the national budget \u201canti-poor and pro-elite,\u201d the adviser claimed that the Punjab budget followed the same pattern, \u201ccompletely ignoring\u201d the agricultural sector and offering no relief to farmers. He said that flawed federal policies had already cost Punjab\u2019s cultivators an estimated Rs 2,200 billion, while only \u201ccommission-driven\u201d projects received priority.
\nHe said that, unlike Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab had \u201cfailed to muster the courage\u201d to provide free healthcare. \u201cIf Punjab faces difficulty in extending health facilities, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands ready to assist,\u201d he added.
\nDr Saif warned that the taxes and levies on petroleum products, along with surcharges on electricity, would unleash \u201ca new wave of inflation\u201d in the coming fiscal year. \u201cThe poor will be crushed in the mill of rising prices while the wealthy will continue to indulge,\u201d he added, alleging that the budget was framed to protect elite interests and offered \u201cnothing\u201d for low-income citizens.
\nHe said the provincial government had presented a tax-free, welfare-oriented budget in line with former prime minister Imran Khan\u2019s vision, prioritising social-sector schemes under the leadership of the chief minister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DLP Report PESHAWAR Adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Dr Saif, has accused the federal government of \u201cdropping a petrol bomb\u201d 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-484892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n