ISLAMABAD, May 16: Former deputy chairman of Planning Commission and Pakistan Muslim League Chief Coordinator Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday termed 17 per cent hike in fuel prices a referendum tax imposed by the military regime to recover the cost of the exercise.

In a statement, he claimed that President Gen Musharraf had spent over Rs5 billion on his referendum campaign while the tax collection was lagging behind the original target by over Rs50 billion rupees at Rs407 billion due to the economic slowdown and the government’s anti-investment policies.

The government, he claimed, wanted another downward revision of the revenue target to Rs400 billion but it was not allowed by the International Monetary Fund.

He predicted inflationary impact of the fuel price hike on the economy. He said it would directly impact the transport and agriculture sectors apart from hitting the poor very hard.

He said that due to failed policies of the government, diplomats were leaving the country to protect their lives and no country was willing to keep even sporting ties with Pakistan.

“Thanks to Gen Musharraf, Pakistan is working on daily wages with the coalition and the United States, while India is building long-term relations with Europe and the US,” he said.