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RAWALPINDI, March 1: Despite facing fury of the party leadership, PPP leader Fauzia Wahab on Tuesday reiterated that Raymond Davis enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
She, however, insisted that it was her own view and had nothing to do with the party stance over the issue.
She said this while talking to journalists during her visit to Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) offices here on Tuesday.
She said Raymond Davis enjoyed diplomatic immunity and legal proceedings could not have been initiated against him. “If Pakistan hands over Raymond Davis to the US, it would pursue the case in US court against him for the double murder of its citizens,” she said.
“If Pakistan insists on pursuing the case in the country, it should ask the US to lift the diplomatic immunity from Raymond Davis,” she said.
To a question, Ms. Wahab said: “Corruption is not a main hurdle on the way to development.” She said whenever PPP-led government talked about development some elements raised the issue of corruption in the country. She said that corruption could not stop the process of development in the country.
While talking to the participants of the discussion on RGST which was attended by the students of Fatima Jinnah Women University, UET Taxila and Comsat Institute of Technology she said that taxation system needed to be improved for getting maximum revenue. She further said that President Asif Ali Zardari had raised his voice at many platforms that Pakistan needed trade not aid.
“Implementation of Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) is the need of the hour,” she said and added that the government wanted to present RGST in better form for the improvement of taxation system in the country.
She said that PPP-led government wanted to take all the stakeholders on board about the taxes which it imposed contrary to the practice when the government imposed taxes in annual budgets and the people and even the legislators were not aware of them.
She said the RGST issue was in the Parliament and concerns of the business community would be conveyed to the legislators.
Ms Wahab said the government planned to build 12 dams but the projects could not be started due to shortage of funds.
