Gilgit [PoGB], Nawaz Khan Naji, an opposition member of Parliament from Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB), on Monday expressed concern over the skewed budget allocation in the financial budget presented in the assembly, according to a news channel PoGB local.
In his statement, Naji said: "Pakistan's fate is doomed; it is a well-known fact; the administration is incompetent and corruption is at its peak, so what the final outcome will be is clear. Now PoGB is a colony of Pakistan, therefore our fate is also sealed. Every time the budget is allocated, money is given as donation or alms, we deserve more than what we are given, which is also true.”
Naji claimed that the allocations for the plans are not based on any logic and he complained about the distribution of money to large corporations and projects.
"Neither they give us adequate sum of money nor the money given to us is distributed properly. The allocations for the schemes are not based on any logic. We had participated with the Awami Joint Action Committee in their protests demanding that taxation be stopped of essential elements, but should we not apply tax rules to large corporations and projects that have been using PoGB resources for their benefit?
"These large companies do not give a single cent in taxes, but the general citizen is forced to pay huge sums of money in taxes. The local administration does not have the courage to tax the large corporations that do business in PoGB using our land and our people. I know several companies are entering PoGB now, just to save taxes, as PoGB has become the land of tax fraud. All this is happening, even though the general public pays high taxes. The conditions remain the same for the people. "There is no responsibility of the government for the payment of taxes paid by the people," he added.
Another PoGB leader expressed concern over the lack of allocation for women's issues in the current budget.
In his statement, he mentioned: "The local administration remains a silent observer as the situation goes from bad to worse. As the government is powerless, the people are. And the final ruler of the PoGB is someone else like the local administration "He always acts as a defender of the Pakistani administration."
Earlier, Finance Minister of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) Engineer Muhammad Ismail on Tuesday presented the financial budget for the year 2024-25, totaling PKR 140.17 billion.
In the budget presented, PKR 86 billion was allocated for non-development expenditure and PKR 34.60 billion for development projects, Dawn reported.
The budget was presented amid protests by opposition members in the Gilgit city parliament.
According to Ismail, PKR 6.40 billion is estimated to be non-tax revenue, and PKR 1.33 billion is estimated to be collected as revenue from PoGB authorities. Furthermore, the budget deficit is estimated at PKR 11.92 billion.
However, opposition leader Kazim Mesum and other assembly members started a protest in parliament.
Mesum in his statement stated that the budget is inadequate and neglects key sectors such as health and agriculture.
According to Dawn news report, the leader also alleged that the budget was biased towards making budgetary allocations as funds were only approved for schemes benefiting treasury bank members.
Agriculture Minister PoGB Kazim Mesum, in a local press report, "I have raised my voice repeatedly but the administration is not interested in listening to our concerns. Instead of taking considerable steps to solve our problems, they are pushing us to take even more more "Employees in several departments who had been protesting were promised that their needs would be met this time, but we have read the budget from beginning to end, but those demands have not been taken into account."
In the same local news report, while raising the issues raised by PoGB media professionals, Kazim Mesum stated that "PoGB media professionals had demanded an endowment fund, but no such allocations had been made in the budget. Similarly, we had raised the issue of vacant teaching posts in PoGB and they had made adequate allocations during our time, but in this budget, they have not made any allocation related to this serious issue.”
In his statement, Naji said: "Pakistan's fate is doomed; it is a well-known fact; the administration is incompetent and corruption is at its peak, so what the final outcome will be is clear. Now PoGB is a colony of Pakistan, therefore our fate is also sealed. Every time the budget is allocated, money is given as donation or alms, we deserve more than what we are given, which is also true.”
Naji claimed that the allocations for the plans are not based on any logic and he complained about the distribution of money to large corporations and projects.
"Neither they give us adequate sum of money nor the money given to us is distributed properly. The allocations for the schemes are not based on any logic. We had participated with the Awami Joint Action Committee in their protests demanding that taxation be stopped of essential elements, but should we not apply tax rules to large corporations and projects that have been using PoGB resources for their benefit?
"These large companies do not give a single cent in taxes, but the general citizen is forced to pay huge sums of money in taxes. The local administration does not have the courage to tax the large corporations that do business in PoGB using our land and our people. I know several companies are entering PoGB now, just to save taxes, as PoGB has become the land of tax fraud. All this is happening, even though the general public pays high taxes. The conditions remain the same for the people. "There is no responsibility of the government for the payment of taxes paid by the people," he added.
Another PoGB leader expressed concern over the lack of allocation for women's issues in the current budget.
In his statement, he mentioned: "The local administration remains a silent observer as the situation goes from bad to worse. As the government is powerless, the people are. And the final ruler of the PoGB is someone else like the local administration "He always acts as a defender of the Pakistani administration."
Earlier, Finance Minister of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) Engineer Muhammad Ismail on Tuesday presented the financial budget for the year 2024-25, totaling PKR 140.17 billion.
In the budget presented, PKR 86 billion was allocated for non-development expenditure and PKR 34.60 billion for development projects, Dawn reported.
The budget was presented amid protests by opposition members in the Gilgit city parliament.
According to Ismail, PKR 6.40 billion is estimated to be non-tax revenue, and PKR 1.33 billion is estimated to be collected as revenue from PoGB authorities. Furthermore, the budget deficit is estimated at PKR 11.92 billion.
However, opposition leader Kazim Mesum and other assembly members started a protest in parliament.
Mesum in his statement stated that the budget is inadequate and neglects key sectors such as health and agriculture.
According to Dawn news report, the leader also alleged that the budget was biased towards making budgetary allocations as funds were only approved for schemes benefiting treasury bank members.
Agriculture Minister PoGB Kazim Mesum, in a local press report, "I have raised my voice repeatedly but the administration is not interested in listening to our concerns. Instead of taking considerable steps to solve our problems, they are pushing us to take even more more "Employees in several departments who had been protesting were promised that their needs would be met this time, but we have read the budget from beginning to end, but those demands have not been taken into account."
In the same local news report, while raising the issues raised by PoGB media professionals, Kazim Mesum stated that "PoGB media professionals had demanded an endowment fund, but no such allocations had been made in the budget. Similarly, we had raised the issue of vacant teaching posts in PoGB and they had made adequate allocations during our time, but in this budget, they have not made any allocation related to this serious issue.”
