Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the federal government has a constitutional option to impose Governor rule in KP but the government will not use this option. He was addressing media persons at Punjab House on Monday. Ishaq Dar said that government has decided not to change petroleum product prices for the month of November, and for this it had to bear an expense of Rs 4 billion in just one month.

“The federal government has not passed Rs 12 billion to consumers since April because the government wants to facilitate the common people of the country,” said Ishaq Dar. The Finance Minister said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Shareef’s extension was not on the agenda of the government delegation and army officials’ meeting three days ago.

“It was decided in Quetta between the Army Chief and Prime Minister that the Interior Minister will brief the army on the preliminary investigation of a planted story in a private newspaper,” he said. Ishaq Dar said that the government will pay Rs 25 billion sales tax refunds to exporters within a week through the State bank of Pakistan. “The tax authority had paid Rs 21 billion sales tax refunds to exporters on 31 August because we announced in our 2016-17 budget that government will pay all the sales tax refunds to exporters till October 2016.”

“FBR officials collected information related to bank accounts and others from the business community and if somebody did not get the money within seven days, they have to approach FBR for refunds.” Replying to one question he said that Finance Ministry did not get the summary of increase in the pays of Police and FC officials yet. “Once the finance ministry receives the summary, the officials will deliberate on it and then the Ministry will take permission from Nawaz Sharif. I assure the interior minister that the government will increase the salaries of police and FC Personals in two phases. One will be in next few days and second will be in the budget of 2017-17,” he added.