ISLAMABAD – *Pakistan seek major concession cum demand from theInternational Monetary Fund.*
The members of Finance Committee have demanded the International MonetaryFund (IMF) mission to soften up the economic targets, during the IMFdelegation visit to parliament on Wednesday.
A joint session of the Finance Committee of both houses was held todayunder the chairmanship of former finance minister Asad Umar and PakistanPeoples Party (PPP) Senator Farooq H. Naik. During the session, the membersof the IMF mission were briefed on the loan program.
The members of the Finance Committee demanded the IMF to soften economictargets, saying that the target of annual sales tax should be reducedwhereas, there should be a phase wise implementation of economic reforms.
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The members also said that the exchange rate should be relaxed, to whichthe IMF officials said that exchange rate is a gradual process. Welcomingthe meeting with the IMF, Umar said that at the moment there is amarket-based exchange rate.
Farooq H. Naik said there has been an increase in smuggling after thegovernment raised taxes, saying that the government should startnegotiations with the stakeholders. Naik further said that thecentralization of sales tax on services was a violation of the constitution.
