Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar Thursday claimed that geopolitics and international-level efforts are underway against Pakistan to make the cash-strapped nation default on its debt payments.
While speaking during the Standing Committee on Finance, Dar strongly condemned the international-level efforts and geopolitics targeting the country’s economy, claiming that foreign elements are working hard to force Pakistan to default on payments to international creditors, similar to what transpired in the case of Sri Lanka.
He reiterated that the repayment of international debt is the government’s top priority and no payment will be delayed.
He also discussed the current progress on talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the lender’s program for Pakistan nears the end of passage on June 30, 2023. The minister was critical of IMF’s role and said that the global lender is “wasting Pakistan’s time”.
Dar told the committee that the IMF has objected to tax exemptions in budget 2023-24. Bewildered by the lender’s stance on the matter, the finance minister said Pakistan is a sovereign state and has the right to determine where to give tax exemptions and from where to collect taxes.
Speaking on the budget proposals, Dar said the federal government has set a tax revenue target of Rs. 9.2 trillion for the upcoming fiscal year, with some big incentives for freelancers in the IT sector. The IMF wants the government to stop providing incentives to young people working in IT which the government will not comply with, he added.
He stated that the government’s new budget initiatives are all focused on generating equitable tax growth and that reducing tax exemptions would make that difficult.
However, speaking to reporters after the meeting of the committee, the finance minister once again reiterated that talks with IMF will succeed and the ninth review will be completed.
Offcourse. Everything ill in Pakistan is caused by some external force. We are not responsible for anything negative. We can only take ownership when it’s goes our way.
What a sad state of affairs and soul crushing mindset of our decision makers.