The talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have concluded and the government has not imposed any additional taxes on the poor in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, said Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

He said this while addressing a press conference in Islamabad along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday.

He said there was nothing wrong with taxing the affluent class in the country where, according to him, the poor usually suffered the burden of additional taxation.

“People like Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and I will have to pay more tax,” he said, adding that the government had decided not to increase the burden on the low-income segments of the population.

“We will ensure that the sacrifice is shared,” he said. He cited the “historic, progressive and people-friendly” budget unveiled for this fiscal year as proof.

Solvency issues

Pakistan and the IMF have made headway with negotiations for reviving the country’s bailout programme, the lender’s resident representative in Islamabad said. Sources said the global lender has agreed to Pakistan’s budget targets.

Miftah said the country would receive $2.3 billion from China within a few days, adding the stock market also showed positive trend and the rupee strengthened against the dollar. A consortium of Chinese banks signed the loan facility with Pakistan.

The finance minister accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government for leaving the country on the edges of “bankruptcy”, saying Imran Khan left a deficit of Rs1.2 billion deficit.

“Imran Khan subsidized petroleum products to save his government, while we saved the country from bankruptcy by raising the price of fuel,” he said.

Ismail also talked about the Ehsaas programme initiated by the previous government, saying Sailani welfare paid for free food for the poor and Imran Khan did not pay a single penny on the “langar khana” project.

He admitted that the country was suffering due to the impact of skyrocketing inflation but expressed hope that the situation would soon improve.