ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Friday presented the Federal Budget 2021-22 in the National Assembly with a total outlay of Rs 8,487 billion amid rumpus created by the opposition parties.
His speech was marred by the chaotic environment as opposition members chant slogans to interrupt his speech.
Presenting the budget, the finance minister said that many challenges came our way this year but we tackled them all under the leadership of PM Imran Khan.
“When the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came into power, the previous governments had taken many loans,” he said and added no government had faced such a situation before. The current account deficit was $20 billion.
Shedding a light on the negligence of the previous governments, Tarin said Pakistan has become a food-deficit country due to years of negligence, adding that inflation has created troubles for low income peoples. He has said that sugar prices increased by 18 percent.
“We need to make Pakistan food sufficient and for this purpose, we need to focus agriculture,” said Tarin, vowing to bring reforms for the agriculture sectors.
He says that Covid-19 caused huge trouble for the government and now the governments debts have fallen down. “4.8 is the target of our future growth,” he has explained.
The minister went on to say that the previous government kept dollar at 104 rupees at artificial levels, adding that this level led to increase in heavy borrowing. He said, “During the tenure of previous government, domestic borrowing had increased substantially, adding at least Rs 14 trillion worth fresh loans were taken.”
Tarin said remittances had increased in Pakistan to record levels, adding that these are expected to rise to $29 billion by the end of this month. “This is proof of the love that overseas Pakistanis harbour for Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said.
