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Tag: PTI government

  • Govt increases tax on Landa clothes by 5pc

    Govt increases tax on Landa clothes by 5pc

    In the budget for the fiscal year 2019-20, the Pakistan Terheek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has increased withholding tax on secondhand clothes by 5 per cent.

    Reports quoted the Pakistan Second Hand Clothing Merchants Association (PSHCMA) as saying that the tax on used clothes has been increased from 1 per cent to 6 per cent, effective July 1 – start of the new fiscal year.

    The development is expected to pave way for an increase in the costs of secondhand clothes by at least five per cent — something that could’ve been bought for Rs200 earlier, can now cost you Rs210; Rs500, Rs525.

    Urging the government to bring down the withholding tax amid rupee depreciation against the dollar, members of the association have also demanded that 10 per cent regulatory duty (RD) on used clothes import be removed.

    Pakistan imports used ladies garments, gents’ trousers and shirts, blankets, warm clothing, winter garments, shoes etc mainly from the United States (US) and Europe. Landa Bazar is a marketplace where all these secondhand goods are sold at cheaper rates.

    According to the figures of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), import of worn clothing has risen to 426,797 tonnes valuing $165 million against 404,737 tonnes worth $148m in the last fiscal year.

    However, the development suggests that the trend might not live long with even used clothes and other items being out of reach for low-income groups.

  • VIDEO: ‘PTI govt paying media houses to like them?’, Hamid Mir trolls Faisal Vawda

    VIDEO: ‘PTI govt paying media houses to like them?’, Hamid Mir trolls Faisal Vawda

    Senior journalist Hamid Mir has trolled Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda for claiming that “anti-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)” media houses had started liking the government after financial benefits.

    Speaking on Mir’s show, Vawda on Tuesday said that media outlets, known for their alleged affiliation with opposition parties, were now highlighting achievements of the PTI government as they had been “provided with ease of doing business”.

    “It wasn’t our job, but we fought against lay-offs in the media industry. We made doing businesses easy by giving them [media houses] budgets,” he said.

    When Mir asked if he meant the government had paid media houses any money, Vawda agreed, saying the PTI had “paid them against government advertisements”.

    It wasn’t later that both Mir and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khurram Dastgir Khan broke into laughter.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Senior journalists have time and again expressed concerns over the state of Pakistani media ever since the PTI government took reins of the country.

    With cuts in government advertisements, a shakeout has been triggered and hundreds of thousands of media workers have gone jobless. Some journalists have also accused the PTI of using “stoppage of government ads to media as a weapon”.

  • United opp divides people: All you should know about Bilawal’s Iftar

    United opp divides people: All you should know about Bilawal’s Iftar

    As leaders of major opposition parties joined hands to attend an Iftar dinner hosted by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday, their united stance against the government left social media divided.

    ATTENDANCE:

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) senior leader Liaquat Baloch, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Sherpao and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leaders Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were all in attendance for the event organised at Zardari House in Islamabad.

    AGENDA:

    Bilawal is working to unite all opposition parties and his Iftar was an opportunity for them to reach consensus on launching an anti-government movement after Ramzan.

    The grand show of around ten political parties discussed strategies against the government. Sources had earlier informed The Current that the meeting was set to unite opposition leaders against the country’s economic crisis — falling rupee value and inflation.

    It was decided that solutions will be found to the issues the country is facing and all opposition parties will launch a protest inside and outside the parliament after Eid.

    They also agreed that the government has failed in running the affairs of the country and after Eid, an All Parties Conference (APC) would be held where a joint strategy would be formulated.

    The meeting also expressed concerns over “political victimisation” by the National Accountancy Bureau (NAB).

    PM IMRAN’S REACTION:

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan hit out at the opposition and said, “Today certain people have gathered for an event but we really know that it is because of them that Pakistan has not moved forward.”

    He said that the economy was being used “as a source of blackmail by corrupt political mafia”.

    DIVIDED SOCIAL MEDIA:

    Some social media users lauded Bilawal and Maryam as the new faces behind the two biggest opposition parties in the country, “taking forward the ideas of their parents” — former PMs Benazir Bhutto and Maryam Nawaz.

    https://twitter.com/always_opposed/status/1130139351558631424

    Meanwhile, some others stepped up to criticise the “unholy alliance”.

    https://twitter.com/ShahnawazChudh1/status/1130384542513205248
    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1130080776899452928
    https://twitter.com/Faisal_Kp01/status/1130382713062678528
  • Railways suffer losses worth over Rs28bn in PTI’s first eight months

    Railways suffer losses worth over Rs28bn in PTI’s first eight months

    In contradiction to Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed’s claims, Pakistan Railways (PR) has suffered a loss of Rs28.62 billion within the first eight months of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, it was revealed Friday.

    Just last month, Rasheed had claimed that PR has generated a profit of Rs43 billion ever since he was handed the reins of the department.

    However, according to a report submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways, the department’s total expenditure stands at Rs72 billion, while six of the 10 new trains inaugurated by Rasheed are suffering losses.

    The trains running to further ruin the crippling department include Dhabeji Express, Shah Latif Express, Mohenjodaro Express, Rohi Passenger Train, Thal-Mianwali Express, Faisalabad Non-Stop Train and Rawalpindi Express.