ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Mifta Ismail said on Thursday that he saved Pakistan from bankruptcy by raising the prices of petroleum products.
Addressing a joint press conference with Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, the Finance Minister takes the country into confidence on Chinese debt and ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Miftah Ismail said that they have reached an agreement with the IMF on budget measures. The minister said he would give the concluding speech of the general discussion on the federal budget for fiscal year 2023 in the National Assembly and then he would close the budget.
“This is a historic budget as we have neither increased indirect taxes nor imposed taxes on goods or consumption,” he said.
Taking a jibe at the PTI government, the Finance Minister said that they imposed heavy tax on consumption which adversely affected the poor.
The previous government made the four highest budget deficits, he said, adding that Pakistan’s debt had increased by 80% during the PTI tenure since the country’s inception. He said that Imran Khan has brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy.
He said that they only tax the rich. “I have also taxed the companies of the Prime Minister’s son,” he said.
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