Tough decisions need of the hour, says Miftah Ismail in post-budget presser

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Saturday asked not to find fault with the tough decisions the incumbent government is taking.

Miftah was addressing a post-budget conference today and said that the country has been passing through a rough phase.

The finance minister said that government was not taking home the money earned from the petrol hike.

“Next year, the country will face a budget deficit of Rs4598 billion,” he added.

Touching on the subsidies, he said that the subsidies on electricity and gas cost the country around Rs1100 billion and Rs1600 billion respectively.

“The previous government supplies costly LNG to consumers on subsidized rates,”

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Miftah said government to collect more money from rich segment and to provide relief to poor and middle class.

Ismail also disclosed that government has plans for privatization and revealed that nearly 14 companies would be privatized in future.

Notably, Miftah on Friday unveiled annual budget worth Rs 9.5 trillion for the financial year 2022-23 in the National Assembly.

Starting his speech, Miftah Ismail said the PTI government’s policies inflicted losses on the economy and hurt people’s lives.