By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, on Monday said that the Prime Minister has expressed his unwavering commitment to enforcing tax laws.
Speaking on a private news channel, he said that the prime minister showed resolute commitment and issued strict instructions to enforcing tax laws during a recent meeting focused on the economy and taxation.
“The prime minister said that tax laws are designed to address the country’s economic challenges and must be implemented without exception,” he said adding, “there will be no turning back, even if he has to resign.”
He clarified that the prime minister’s statement was purely about economic and tax issues and not related to the current political scenario. He reiterated the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) readiness for dialogue, even in the face of adversity.
“When the entire party of the PMLN was jailed on false charges, we were in favor of negotiations even then. Today, while in government, we are still willing to negotiate for the broader interest of the country,” he said.
He accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) of deliberately creating chaos and spreading hatred to weaken the country. “They aim to use turmoil for political gain and harm the country,” he added.
He further said that the government will continue to work tirelessly to provide relief to the people of Pakistan.
Earlier. Hundreds of flour mills across Pakistan remained shut on Thursday as their owners announced an indefinite strike against the government’s move to impose a new withholding tax, exacerbating fears of a food shortage in many parts of the country.
The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) says the government has imposed a 5.5 percent withholding tax on sales of flour mills in the national budget. Javed Yusuf, a former chairperson of the PFMA, said the government has also directed flour mills to collect another 2.5 percent withholding tax on the sale of essential commodities to retailers (non-filers) and 2 percent from wholesalers (non-filers). The association says it has been tasked to collect a 0.5 percent withholding tax on the sale of flour from retailers (filers) and a 0.10 percent tax from wholesalers (filers).
