Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Respected Ishaq Dar
Sir, the budget of FY 23-24 you present on 9th June 23 has the outlay of PKR 14.5 trillion, but tax revenue generation of PKR 9.2 trillion only. In this regard, Dr Ikram ul HAQ has already proposed in minutes details how to generate over PKR14 trillion tax revenue by reducing the tax rate, but expanding its base.
Now, either the Finance Ministry should accept the taxation ideas of Dr. Ikram ul Haq about the above-mentioned tax revenue generation, or it should inform the public that PKR over 14 trillion can not be generated with the proposals of Dr. Ikram ul Haq.
Sir, this is all the more a critical issue for Pakistan as IMF funding is undecided and FBR has already failed to collect tax revenue targets of PKR 7.6 trillion of FY 22-23 and now it will be required to meet the tax revenue target of PKR 9.2 trillion of 23-24 with reduced imports, which looks well neigh impossible.
As such, you may seriously consider the proposals of Dr. Ikram ul Haq for adopting the least disruptive taxation measures, which aims to generate tax revenues of above PKR 14 trillion instead of your target of PKR 9.6 trillion during FY 23-24.
SYED NAYYAR UDDIN
Lahore
We need attention
Turbat is known as the hottest city in the whole of Pakistan with an average temperature of more than 40 Celsius in summer while in summer zone the problem of load shedding never comes to an end. Most of the residents living in Turbat belong to impoverished families; thus not able to buy gadgets/devices like generators or solar panels to manage their day-to-day affairs.
Apart from this, Turbat city has only one library with six small fans in it. When the electricity goes, no student is able to read in it because of the heat. We don’t need any AC from the government, but at least they should provide some solar panels to the Library to counter the effects of such weather.
Therefore, we, the students, can’t do anything else except placing our request in a newspaper. The concerned authorities should be a little responsible with regard to their duties and should manage some relief for us – the students – and for the citizens as well.
IMTIAZ JAVED
Turbat
Elite capture & its solution
GROSS wealth inequality is a hallmark of Pakistan. Only 1% of the richest Pakistanis: •own 9% of Pakistan’s overall income. •own 22% (approx) of its arable farmland. •receive US $17.4 billion worth of privileges and subsidies which roughly equals half of our national budget
We may not have known these statistics but we live and breathe them…and knowing this is never going to be enough to solve this inequality. And we are not alone. Affluent countries like the USA are struggling with this and similar to Pakistan, those with the wealth are reluctant and resistant to change.
It doesn’t help to vilify these 1% in as much it doesn’t make sense to expect them to come up with a solution. It is not in their benefit to change, but this doesn’t mean they are the problem. They are just another symptom of the problem and while they want to protect the status quo, still, attacking them only vents our frustration but will not solve the problem.
The real solution lies in taking the disproportionate power which they exert over ruling, law-making and economic decision-making away from them. This cannot be done cosmetically by changing rulers, since this is just a change of face while the system maintains the inequality, the corruption and the influence which the elites have. This is what we have been going through since the creation of Pakistan and what we will suffer again with the current political crisis. We need to understand that real change and solution means the complete change of the governance system from which the elite draw their power. This is the real change that Rasoolallah (saw) brought and why the Quresh rejected him and sought to preserve the system, which gave them their power. They knew very well that the new system (Islam) would shift the balance of power and privileges away from them and distribute it to the masses.
Similarly today, the elite will trade anything for the continuity of the current system, as they know how to bend the rules, how to introduce new faces and exploit it for their personal gains. However, we should not accept another change of face or bringing back of an old face…we need a change of the entire system to turn it based solely on the infinite wisdom of Allah (swt), which will de-throne the corrupted elites and establish true justice for the whole of Pakistan.
A CITIZEN
Via email
Sindh govt and STS
The Government of Sindh along with 3rd party testing service STS have conducted screening test for recruitment of different government jobs from BPS 5 to 15, the test is divided in three categories: Matric, Intermediate, Graduation; initially the graduation category test was conducted in January 2023. After the declaration of official results; the various Sindh govt departmental jobs are advertised that have to be filled on the basis of a screening test conducted by STS. The validity of the screening test shall remain up to the year 2026.
The fresh graduates who couldn’t appear in the screening test due to incompleteness of degrees have to still wait for 2026 until the screening tests validity expires. It means the graduates of years 2022-2026 are somehow ineligible to appear in any govt job tests of BPS 5 to 15. The govt of Sindh must revise the policy and the validity of screening should come to a halt within 1 year or the fresh graduate should be given an alternate chance to appear in the different government job tests.
ABDUL KARIM
Sukkur
Box letter
Power load-shedding
The shortage of electricity in Sindh has been a persistent issue that has been plaguing the province for several years. The failure of the government to provide adequate supply of electricity has caused immense difficulties for the residents of Sindh, who have to endure prolonged hours of power outage every day. This situation has had a negative impact on the province’s economy, as both industrial and commercial activities have been affected by the power shortage. To address this issue, the government should take immediate steps to invest in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. The government can also encourage private investment in this sector by offering tax incentives and subsidies. Additionally, the government should work towards upgrading the existing power infrastructure and implement better energy management policies to ensure that there is a consistent supply of electricity. Moreover, the government should focus on educating consumers about the need to conserve energy and reduce wastage. By taking these measures, the government can mitigate the impact of the power shortage in Sindh and enable the province to progress towards a sustainable future.
SOHAIL JAMALI
Sanghar
