ISLAMABAD, May 31: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday said the government would introduce a new initiative of prices regime for essential commodities and continue with existing legitimate subsidies in the next budget to be announced on June 5.

Talking to editors and senior journalists officially invited from all over the country to the pre-budget briefing, the prime minister said comprehensive initiatives would be introduced in the budget to control prices of essential commodities and inflation.

He parried specific questions on budget proposals but said the measures would provide relief to people and improve their living conditions. He said by and large the budget would not put any extra burden on people as the government wanted to sustain growth with equity and dignity but without compromising the country’s sovereignty.

Mr Aziz said supply of commodities would be increased and artificial price hikes controlled through legal and financial instruments under a competitive environment. He said the monopoly control authority was being transformed into a powerful competition authority to be headed by Khalid Mirza, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

He said the government was providing targeted subsidies to electricity, fertiliser and similar other areas and the practice would continue in future. He said provision of subsidy was a legitimate tool of government intervention all over the world. The government, he said, would ensure that benefits of the subsidies were not limited only to the elite class.

He said wheat production during the current year stood at 21.7 million, besides enough stocks already available in the country, and the government was considering exporting the surplus stock.

Responding to a question on energy and trade corridors, given law and order situation in Balochistan and security situation in Afghanistan, the prime minister said the situation in Balochistan was improving.

He said consultation and talks with the people of Balochistan were underway and funds were also being provided to the province to resolve its security issues amicably. He added that the writ of the state would be ensured in the province.

He said the objective of energy and trade corridors with Central Asian republics and China could not be realised without peace in Afghanistan.

When asked why the government was not taxing the billions of rupees income from the capital market, he said the government would honour its commitment not to tax capital gains for the next year but capital value tax on share trading already existed.

He said government’s strategy for development was based on exploiting Pakistan’s strategic location to provide multiple corridors of cooperation like energy, trade, transportation and tourism.

He said the government had asked China to utilise Pakistan’s coast to take oil and gas pipelines via Karakoram as Pakistan was developing the Gwadar port with mega refineries and the North-South Corridor with infrastructure up-gradation and quality telecommunication.