While reacting the federal budget, PAT leader Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has said, that the 5th consecutive budget presented by elite would turn the begging-bowl into a huge bucket. The finance minister had the reputation of building castle in the air and there was urgent need to rectify the figures and statistics presented by him. He added. He further commented on the demonstration of farmers and ensuing baton- charging by saying that so called farmer-friendly rulers had given the demonstrating farmers the punishment before announcing the budget. He wondered how the burden of Rs. 6 trillion, mounting unemployment, alarming reduction in the investment, and worrisome decrease in the spending over the health and education sectors could be termed as the economic stability.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri further said that the policies enacted by the elite helped proliferate the culture of corruption, and offshore companies. He pointed out that there was no plan in the budget to bring back the money-laundered wealth stashed in the Swish banks, while noting that the government could not afford the relief for the farmers due to increasing pressure being exerted by international financial Institutes. He lamented that the national resources were being looted under the guise of projects aims at eliminating load shedding.

Dr Qadri noted that every budget was preceded by increase in the prices of commodities and the same was the case this time round as well. He remarked that a nation that carried the begging-bowl did not deserve honour and the incumbent government’s excessive loans and debts were making children of Pakistan the slaves of IFIs. He concluded that the detailed reaction to the budget would be issued later but added in the same breath that the rulers had crossed all limits of making life difficult the poor by reallocating the budget meant for health towards the construction of motorways.