Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday demanded Finance Minister Ishaq Dar resign, claiming last-minute adjustments to the finance bill aimed at reviving a stalled IMF bailout suggested the global lender did not trust the incumbent government.
Addressing a press conference in Multan, he said the finance bill presented in the National Assembly earlier this month had been altered to include Rs. 215 billion in additional taxes, adding this had been done because the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had not been satisfied with previous revenue targets. The new taxes, he lamented, were being imposed while the country’s industrial sector was struggling to stay afloat amidst power outages and import restrictions.
Claiming that 2.5 million had been rendered jobless due to recent closures in the textile sector, he said large-scale manufacturing had been particularly impacted by power outages. Similarly, he alleged, farmers had completely rejected the five percent excise duty being imposed on fertilizers. He also hit out at the proposed amnesty scheme aimed at facilitating inflows, noting it had been withdrawn as the IMF had rejected it. As Dar had failed to convince the IMF, said Qureshi, he should resign immediately and make way for another minister.
The former foreign minister also slammed the incumbent government for not giving a “befitting” reply to a U.S.-India joint statement demanding Pakistan not allow its soil to be used for terrorist acts. He further claimed—falsely—that the Foreign Office had not commented on the mistreatment of minorities in India; in its weekly briefing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had reiterated its concern for the plight of Muslims in India.
To a question, Qureshi demanded authorities release arrested PTI workers to allow them to spend Eidul Azha with their families. To another question, he said he had no intention of resigning from the PTI and would remain loyal to party Chairman Imran Khan.