Things get difficult for ruling party in getting parliamentary support for new tax
ISLAMABAD: Ruling coalition member JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s proclamation that he would vote against the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) Bill has cemented the position of the anti-government parliamentary forces in Pakistan, who seek to reject the tax in the National Assembly.
As Fazl ruled out a boycott, a walkout or abstention, his party with just seven MNAs [members of National Assembly] holds a key position for the government, particularly after its major partner, the MQM, adopted a stance harsher than PML-Q and PML-N, the opposition parties.
“The JUI’s apparent aggressiveness has enabled the anti-RGST parties to get around a nine-vote edge over the government side, including PPP, ANP, PML-F, tribal areas, BNP-A and all independents,” said parliamentary affairs officials. A top ANP leader said that his party was also in a state of uncertainty, facing great pressure from various sections of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, particularly the business community, to withdraw the support to the RGST Bill.
“We, being a political party, can ill-afford such a pressure, but so far our decision remains unchanged that is to back the money bill after our major demands are met by the PPP,” the same ANP leader added while asking not to be identified.
In the head count, the 342-member National Assembly has 339 members with two Fata seats lying vacant due to security reasons, and the NA Speaker has a casting vote in case of a tie. Thus, at least 169 of members present in the House are required to vote for approval of legislation.
The pro-RGST lobby has a combined total of 161 with PPP 126, ANP 12, PML-F 5, BNP-A 1, NPP 1 and Independents 18, including eight from Fata. One ANP MNA quit the party, bringing its total to 12 from 13 whereas two Fata MNAs are JUI-F supporters.
The anti-RGST lobby has a number of 178 with PML-N 92, PML-Q 50, MQM 25, JUI-F 7 plus two from Fata and PPP-Sherpao 1 and one ANP member with the possibility that a few independents could vote against the bill or a few of the supporting parties’ members might be absent at the final stage.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has time and again warned the Pakistani government that it would stop the next tranche if the RGST is not enforced by January 1, 2011, as it extended deadlines twice. Originally, it had to be enforced by July 2010, but extended for three months up to October 1 and then again for another 90 days till January 2011.
It is believed that the government is working on the soft target – the PML-Q – to ensure absence of its members from the National Assembly in the final vote as a bill needs majority approval from the members present in the House.
An abstention or absence of even a single member of anti-RGST parties, including JUI- F, PML-N or MQM, would be nothing more than favouring the government. “After Mualana Sherani was inducted as Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology under a two-year old commitment, we have neither placed a new demand nor going to side with the PPP.”
Input from Agencies
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