ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh came under severe criticism from his cabinet colleagues on Wednesday over what was termed back-breaking prices of daily consumables.

Mr Shaikh had come to the cabinet meeting upbeat with a claim of having brought down inflation to 8.8 per cent from 25 per cent in October 2008, but he couldn’t impress other ministers.

“We are not interested in these figures. We cannot convince our voters by merely stating that the country’s economic condition is stable when they are finding it difficult to make both ends meet,” a minister said.

If the inflation rate had been brought down to a single digit why it was not translating into reduced prices for people?, another minister asked.

“People in rural areas are least interested in what the government is doing to improve the tax-to-GDP ratio. They want affordable prices of commodities of daily use, which unfortunately have gone beyond the reach of people in rural areas,” he said.

According to a participant of the meeting, even Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf expressed serious concern over sky-rocketing prices of foodstuff with elections round the corner and asked the finance minister to take some corrective measures.

“When we meet our voters they ask a very simple question: what is the government doing for them,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.

The finance minister had also faced criticism at a meeting of PPP’s parliamentary committee in September.

However, replying to questions at a press briefing later, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the cabinet held an in-depth discussion on the economic situation and the finance minister faced several questions. He refused to concede that Mr Shaikh had been criticised by cabinet members and said he had duly responded to the questions.

The cabinet was given a special briefing on the Consumer Price Index and informed that the overall price situation had stabilised.

While the government has increased salaries by 115 per cent since 2008, its expenditure has increased only by six per cent against an inflation of 11 to 12 per cent.

During the presentation, it was said that despite serious economic challenges the country had not defaulted on payment of internal and external loans.

The finance minister also boasted about a record 21 per cent increase in recovery of taxes.

The tax-GDP ratio has increased by 0.5 per cent. The government has collected Rs350 billion so far this year.

However, the minister said the provincial governments were showing no increase in tax collection.

He said the federal government was spending Rs220 billion per annum, whereas the subsidy on power sector alone had reached Rs30 billion per month.

He said electricity was being produced at a cost of Rs12 per unit but provided to consumers at Rs9.

If gas was imported it would cost $18 per thousand cubic feet while it was being provided at a cost of $6 only.

Elections on time

The information minister said the government was in no mood to hold early elections. “I have repeatedly clarified that a caretaker set-up will be installed in March, when the National Assembly will complete its term, and will decide to hold elections within 60 days, which will fall in May next year. Now detractors of democracy should accept the fact that democracy is here to stay.”

Referring to media reports about the government working on a plan to influence the elections, he said it was written in the Constitution that a neutral caretaker set-up would oversee the polls and with the independent Election Commission, judiciary and media, who would dare to make any mistake?

Asghar Khan case

Mr Kaira said the government was waiting for the detailed judgment in the Asghar Khan case before deciding about its course of action.

Replying to a question, he said he would check with the interior minister about when the FIA would start investigations against politicians who allegedly were funded by the ISI in the 1990 elections.

When asked if the government was serious about taking action against retired military generals Aslam Beg and Asad Durrani, he avoided to give a direct reply and gave a general statement that all would be held accountable. Mr Kaira raised questions about the legal status of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s government which had come into power as a result of the 1990 elections. “If the 1990 elections were fraud then what about actions taken by the government which came into power after those sham elections?”

When asked about taking the matter to the Supreme Court he said the PPP would prefer to take its case to the people’s court.

President’s role

When asked if President Asif Ali Zardari would stop indulging in politics as a result of an SC decision, Mr Kaira reiterated his stance that nobody could bar him from political activities because he was part of parliament. He said a political process was involved in the election of the president.

The minister said the presidency was open to all political parties and if PML-N leaders wanted to visit him they would be more than welcome.