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New budget does little for the poor: Pakistani analysts
Karachi, June 08: Economists today slammed Pakistan`s new budget as failing to meet the needs of the country`s tens of millions of poor, despite record development spending plans and a freeze on the defence budget.
Karachi, June 08: Economists today slammed Pakistan's
new budget as failing to meet the needs of the country's tens of millions of poor, despite record development spending plans and a freeze on the defence budget.
Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz highlighted a 31 percent increase in development spending to US $ 2.7 billion when he presented the budget yesterday, making it equal to direct
defence spending for the first time.
"Who will be the beneficiary of this allocation? it cannot be the poor of this country, unless this is supplemented with meaningful reforms," economist Karamat Ali,
who heads the Pakistan Institute of Labour Research (PILER), said.
By Islamabad's figures, 31 percent of its 145 million people are living in poverty, earning less than two dollars a day.
Economist Shahid Hasan Siddiqui called Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali's maiden USD 13.8 billion dollar budget "routine" and lashed his government for failing to take advantage of benefits won by Pakistan since late 2001 for supporting the ouster of Afghanistan's Taliban regime.
"The Finance Minister had a rare opportunity, which he missed, to present a welfare budget aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment due to favourable factors in post-September 11 era," Siddiqui said.
Among Pakistan's slew of war-on-terrorism rewards was the rescheduling of 12.5 billion dollars of debt, almost one third of its total $ 38.5 billion debt at the time.
The allocation of 160 billion rupees for direct defence needs came under fire, even though it represented a freeze on the defence budget.
Bureau Report
By Islamabad's figures, 31 percent of its 145 million people are living in poverty, earning less than two dollars a day.
Economist Shahid Hasan Siddiqui called Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali's maiden USD 13.8 billion dollar budget "routine" and lashed his government for failing to take advantage of benefits won by Pakistan since late 2001 for supporting the ouster of Afghanistan's Taliban regime.
"The Finance Minister had a rare opportunity, which he missed, to present a welfare budget aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment due to favourable factors in post-September 11 era," Siddiqui said.
Among Pakistan's slew of war-on-terrorism rewards was the rescheduling of 12.5 billion dollars of debt, almost one third of its total $ 38.5 billion debt at the time.
The allocation of 160 billion rupees for direct defence needs came under fire, even though it represented a freeze on the defence budget.
Bureau Report