Wednesday, June 19, 2013

PML-Q presents 6-point budget proposals in Senate

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Secretary General of Pakistan Muslim League has presented 6-point budget proposals in the Senate.
There should be money allocated for a special fund for victims of drone strikes in the budget. Compensation for the dead or whose houses were destroyed, medical treatment for wounded, education for orphans who lost parents in drone strikes. This will also send the right message to the outside world that we are serious on opposing the drone strikes and that there is no longer any dual policy on drone strikes as in the past (condemning publicly but condoning privately), said Sayed. There should be allocation in the budget for life & medical insurance for journalists, photographers & news cameramen of both print & electronic media who lose their life in the line of duty, or are injured by bomb blasts or paralysed for life while performing their professional duties. In Pakistan, mostly the camera is insured but not the cameramen, he added. The proposal for FBR access to all bank accounts in Pakistan is too intrusive, against privacy of individuals and is prone to abuse & misuse since FBR is itself susceptible to corruption, as even stated by the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan. It will likely lead to loss of confidence of Pakistan’s people in their own banks, almost similar to loss of confidence suffered due to seizure of foreign currency accounts after the 1998 nuclear tests.
If the government is sincere and serious in catching the real tax-evaders, then fairness and justice demand that bank accounts held by Pakistanis in secret accounts in Swiss banks and off-shore overseas accounts also be made accessible to FBR, because that is where the ‘big fish’ have parked their accounts. There is already a precedent since the United States government asked for details of secret Swiss Bank accounts of American citizens to catch tax-evaders. This proposal may also be included in the budget. Given the security threat of spying by the US through their secret agencies like CIA and NSA, especially of Pakistan which is the second highest in their list of countries being spied online, money should be allocated in the budget for a cyber security strategy since Pakistan is a victim of cyber warfare and cyber aggression. This should be entrusted to a cyber security task force that could propose counter measures. Its Secretariat should be in the Ministry of IT. Given the threat of extremism & terrorism and failure to combat it over the last decade, money should be put in the budget for preparing a counter terror strategy involving the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence & Ministry of Information through a special inter-ministerial task force, including outside experts & specialists. Its secretariat should be in Cabinet Division, said Sayed while reading out the proposals.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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