LAHORE Agriculture income should be brought into tax net if we want to
get rid of IMF. The time has come now the big landholders should contributor to agriculture income tax, said former Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mehmood Qureshi here on Saturday. He was addressing the participants of Farmers Association Pakistan (FAP) at function arranged to celebrate 20th anniversary of the FAP. Qureshi, who is also FAP chairman and one of the founding members, said that the issue of agriculture income tax should be debated in the parliament. “Consensus should be developed in the parliament and stakeholders through debate,” he said adding dependency on IMF would never yield any good results for Pakistan. “We are not slaves of International Monetary Fund (IMF),” he added.
He said water issue between India and Pakistan should be taken seriously, as it was causing many problems. He said during his tenure as foreign minister, he asked Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to include water issue on the agenda. He said Indus Water Treaty should be implemented in true letter and spirit. He said water issue could arise with Afghanistan in future. Kalabagh Dam should be built after political consensus; however, other water reservoirs should be constructed as soon as possible.
“I am supportive of constructing KBD while keeping in view its economic viability but we should also look into its political side,” he underlined. Qureshi was of the view that small farmers should be given immunity and big landowners should be asked to give agriculture income tax. He said substantial increase in the prices of agriculture produces like wheat, cotton, sugarcane and rice helped the farmers to improve their income. “Now it is responsibility of these farmers to pay tax as well,” he said adding the rural economy has flourished, as a large number of bikes, cars and tractors were being bought in these areas.
FAP Chairman said that land of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was very fertile but thousands of hectares of land could not be irrigated due to shortage of water. He said best quality cotton could be produced in these areas. He appreciated the role of FAP in helping the farmers and said their objectives are being fulfilled. He highlighted the role of FAP in increasing agriculture exports to the US, Europe and other countries. FAP Vice Chairman Hussain Jahania Gardezi, chief executive FAP Malik Afaq Tiwana, Chief Coordinator FAP Dr Tariq Bucha and farmers from all over the country participated in the ceremony.
