ISLAMABAD: Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, has strongly rejected the federal budget, brand-ing it a “pro-elite document” that exacerbates poverty, inflation, and inequality.
Addressing a press conference at Mansoora on Wednesday, he said the government has failed to pro-vide relief to the common man, choosing instead to favor the ruling class and privileged segments of society. “The budget imposes a heavy tax burden on the salaried and middle-income groups while offering no meaningful concessions or structural reforms,” he said.
He termed claims of poverty reduction by the government as “delusional” and “contrary to ground realities,” noting that over 110 million Pakistanis continue to live below the poverty line.
Hafiz Naeem accused the government of mismanaging the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), alleging it has become a tool of political manipulation and corruption, particularly in Sindh.
Rs700 billion allocated for poverty alleviation is being used for corrupt practices. This misuse must be investigated and those responsible punished,” he asserted.
He argued that if these funds were invested in IT education, Pakistan’s IT industry revenues could have surpassed Rs300 billion.
Criticising the deteriorating state of education, he highlighted that nearly 29.2 million children remain out of school, while “ghost schools” continue to drain public funds through fraudulent means.
He lamented the lack of investment in education despite repeated claims of an “education emergen-cy.”
Speaking on taxation, Hafiz Naeem revealed that the salaried class contributed Rs 499 billion in taxes this year, yet received no relief.
He called for complete tax exemption for salaried workers and condemned the fact that 111 depart-ments, including military-run organizations and private entities like Zia Hospital, are exempted from taxes while the poor are burdened with inflated utility bills.
He sharply criticised the recent 600% increase in the salaries of the National Assembly Speaker and Senate Chairman, questioning the silence of government officials on the matter. –Agencies
