ISLAMABAD, June 5: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said that the next budget will be tax-free and provide relief to the people living in rural areas.

Appearing in a PTV programme on Saturday night, the prime minister said the government was focussing on the welfare of the rural masses which comprised 65 per cent of the country's population.

He said in the budget farmers would also be provided relief in an effort to improve the agriculture sector. He said Rs80 billion would be allocated to provide loans to the agriculturists.

In response to a question whether the government intended to abolish general sales tax on fertilizers and pesticides, Mr Jamali said that his government was making efforts to provide some kind of relief in this regard.

He said that the government was making "honest" efforts to reduce unemployment and to control price-hike. However, he said, the government alone could not do this and the people also had a role to play. He expressed the hope that with the increase in oil production by the Arab and Gulf countries, the prices of petroleum products in international markets would come down.

He said the government was providing all kinds of security to those who wanted to invest in Pakistan.

He said the offer of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain about a national consensus government in Sindh was misunderstood. He said the "generous" offer was made by the PML chief in good faith and spirit with an aim to bring peace to Karachi. He said it was wrong to assume that the government had made this offer after having failed to maintain law and order in Sindh. No one should take this offer in this way, he added.

Mr Jamali described the reports about any change in the government as rumours. "As long as I have the blessing of Allah Almighty, support of masses, my party, allied parties and the trust of the president, I will remain the prime minister," Mr Jamali said.

About reported differences between him and Chaudhry Shujaat, the prime minister said there could be a difference of opinion within the party but there was no in-fighting. He said the decision to make him the prime minister was taken at the residence of the PML chief. He said there could be difference of opinions, but the discipline demanded that the decision of party's president should be implemented.

Mr Jamali said that the recent Indian elections were an "eye-opener" for the government. He said the government was making efforts to bring the benefits of the improved economic indicators to the common man.