Former finance minister Miftah Ismail has said that everyone was a sacred cow in Pakistan and the country needed a “butcher”—a colloquial term for a daring person according to him.

“It’s every part of the budget that you cannot touch,” he said while appearing on Spotlight with Munizae Jahangir aired on Aaj News on Tuesday.

He was asked about any part of the budget that a finance minister cannot touch. Ismail served in the same capacity twice. His last stint was brief, but crucial when the country was on the brink of default and led the ministry for talks with the International Monetary Fund.

“You think the defence is not giving information, the railways [department] also does not. Everyone is a sacred cow. We need a butcher to slaughter them.”

Pakistan recently approved its tax-heavy Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget as several business experts reiterated that the government failed to tax sacred cows despite Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s ambitions.

The government further increased taxes on the salaried class. For those earning between Rs600,000 to Rs1,200,000 per annum, the tax rate has been increased from 2.5%% to 5%.

According to Ismail, provinces do not collect taxes on agriculture and property as people belonging to such sectors were part of the provincial “chambers”.

When asked, he said the armed forces budget has increased from Rs1,500 billion in 2017-18 to over Rs2,000 billion in the current fiscal year.

Ismail, along with Abbasi, is set to launch Awaam Pakistan party on July 5. The two leaders parted ways with the PML-N after the change of narrative and economic plans.

They and former PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar had conducted seminars under ‘Reimagining Pakistan’ in the recent past. But Khokhar is not part of the party.

When asked, he said that the former senator was of the view that the party should be launched before elections. But Ismail said people were speaking about former prime minister Imran Khan in constituencies.

“Now, Mustafa thinks space is there but time is not right as many things are happening in politics, judiciary and a clash-like situation of institutions is seen,” the former PML-N leader said.

Goals of Awaam Pakistan

Firstly, he said that the party wants to give the opportunity to every Pakistani, irrespective of their gender, caste, and religion, to lead by giving them education, health, basic income and a job after graduation.

Secondly, Ismail added that the party wants to empower depressed youngsters and free them from the controlling mechanism in the country.

‘Every MPA in Punjab has been given Rs1b’

Ismail, who has slammed the annual outlay, said that the federal government has allocated Rs75 billion for MNAs projects and more than Rs500 billion has been allocated by provinces. “In Punjab, every MPA has been given Rs1 billion for their areas project.”

He was of the view that the prime minister’s decision to not take salary was a penny. “The PM must take a salary, but take right decisions and decrease the Rs500 billion allocated for the PSDP as it is serious money,” the former finance minister said.

Ismail went on to add that Rs30,000, which is the government’s expenditure was equal to 25 per cent of the national income.

Pensions breakdown

He revealed that more than Rs600 billion was allocated for defence institutions’ retired employees – out of the total Rs1,0109 billion budget.

Ismail stressed the need for reforms in pensions. “There should not be two pensions and it should not be more than the salary,” he said and warned that the government would not be able to pay pensions if the amount continues to increase after eight years.

He lamented that the government did not show any intention to do it despite making the statement.

7E and 236 C

While responding to State Finance Minister Ali Pervaiz’s comments on the withholding tax, he clarified that the 7E (tax on deemed income) law was introduced when Shehbaz Sharif was the prime minister during the PDM’s rule.

Ismail added that it was the 236C (advance tax on sale or transfer of immovable property) law, not the 7E. “It is nowhere written that these are those plots,” he said.

Finance minister’s domain

When asked whether the finance minister was being given room to implement his economic vision, he said: “Absolutely not because I think Aurangzeb cannot be blamed for the mistakes done in the budget.”

He reiterated that there was no need to spend so much on the PSPD. Ismail claimed that if the suggestions of Aurangzeb or the finance ministry were heard then the National Finance Commission award could have been revisited and provinces fund would have been decreased.

Ismail added that the provinces can still cut 10 per cent of their expenses.

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Deal with IMF

He claimed that the government did not comply with the IMF’s suggestions of revisiting the NFC award and taxing the property and agriculture sectors.

According to Ismail, the government has given nothing to the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and only given sales tax and customs duty relief to some companies

“The tax on salaried class was enough. When did IMF ask you to tax salaried class,” he said and accused the government of blaming the IMF for imposing further taxes.

“I think this budget will not last the whole year as there are anomalies in it. They will have to relook it,” he said.

Economic expert Khaqan Najeeb, who joined the show via video link, said that the approach to the budget was wrong as the government did not control its expenditure and brought any reforms.