PTI gave Rs20 bn amnesty to 56 rich families: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has strongly criticised the PTI's new Pakistan for having separate laws for the rich and the poor, saying that Imran Khan, who raised the slogan of not two but one Pakistan, created a separate Pakistan for the rich and a separate Pakistan for the poor.

“In the new Pakistan, there is relief for tax evaders through amnesty schemes and inflation for the salaried class of taxpayers, while Imran Khan's change is only to reward the rich by snatching subsidies from the poor,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Bilawal said Imran Khan's economic initiatives are benefitting only certain capitalist families of the country. “The selected prime minister on the one hand gives amnesty to his capitalist friends to legalise nameless properties and on the other hand issues ordinance for expensive electricity,” he said.

He said capitalists and industrialists in the new Pakistan are benefiting from amnesty schemes and collecting taxes from consumers. Bilawal said the PML-N had given benefits to 135 rich families amounting up to Rs43 billion during its tenure in government and the PTI government gave amnesty of more than Rs20 billion to 56 rich families. He raised the question that those who gave amnesty schemes by claiming to bring the rich into the tax net should tell what they did for the common man.

Expressing concern, he said more than 80 million ordinary Pakistanis who do not even come under the ambit of income tax are forced to pay up to 12.5 per cent advance income tax on mobile phones. “The common man is called a tax evader even after paying taxes in various ways,” he said. Bilawal said the gap between rich and poor is widening due to unequal economic policies in Pakistan.

He claimed the PPP is the only party which chalks out economic policies keeping in mind the situation of a common man. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday welcomed the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s review petition and demanded the resignation of President Dr Arif Alvi and accountability of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Law Minister Faroogh Naseem and Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar.

“President Dr Arif Alvi acted as the prime minister’s accomplice in this illegal and unconstitutional attack and as a result lost any moral right to continue in office and should resign immediately,” he added.

Bilawal said the accountability process must start from the prime minister, who initiated this reference with a malafide intent of attacking the Supreme Court and attempted to send a message of fear to every independent judge in the country.

He said it has also been established that Shahzad Akbar and Farogh Naseem acted maliciously and in bad faith to threaten the judiciary, adding they should be immediately removed from their positions and an independent inquiry should be initiated against them. “The entire episode is a scathing indictment of this government, its bullying tactics, and its disregard for the rule of law,” he added.

Bilawal said the PTI government’s attempt to blackmail, intimidate and harass an honorable judge of the Supreme Court has failed. “Attacks on the judiciary are hallmark of dictatorships,” he said.

He said the PPP has always been an unwavering advocate of a strong and independent judiciary. He said the PPP has always stood for the constitutional supremacy and has never resorted to attack on the judiciary. Bilawal said the rule of law is the cardinal principle of democracy and the PPP will always be in the frontline to defend judicial independence, constitutional supremacy and democracy. He demanded that this government should respect democratic norms and end its campaign of victimisation of judiciary, political opponents and media besides all dissenting voices.