HYDERABAD, July 10: It has been emphasised on the need to change basic economic policies and cut non-development expenditures.

Speakers said this during a post-budget seminar organised by the Sindh University’s Department of Economics on Tuesday.

The seminar was presided over by Qaiser Bengali, an economic expert while the speakers included Sindh University’s Vice Chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, Prof Ghulam Hussain Khaskheli, Sabihuddin Ghausi, Barrister Zamir Ghumro, Abrar Kazi and others.

Qaiser Bengali disagreed with one speaker that the Sindh contributed 70 per cent in terms of revenue and said it was an established fact that there was an outflow of resources for the NWFP and Punjab. He said import duty which was charged or collected at the Karachi Port on raw material couldn't be considered as Sindh's exclusive share in revenue. He urged the people to correct their figures if they want to fight their case in a true perspective.

He said that Sindh had huge gas deposits bigger than Balochistan’s whose reserves were now declining. “There might be no gas reserves in Balochistan in next 20 years”, he said. He said even Balochistan doesn't contribute substantially in terms of non-tax revenue.

Under the IMF's dictates, he said, present regime controlled deficit which could be further controlled through curtailing current expenditures to benefit the poor. But if the development expenses were cut then it would affect poor, he added.

He said the basic parameters of economic policies must be changed. He was of the view that the IMF and the World Bank did not want change in existing economic policies by present government or future governments.

The Vice Chancellor, University of Sindh Mazharul Haq Siddiqui who inaugurated the seminar said the target of development can only be achieved by the government by allocating funds for human development.

He said education was an important sector for human development and added that more funds for education were allocated to meet the target. The VC said the budget did not bring relief to poor as far as inflation was concerned.