presidential ordinance govt ready to set up parliamentary commi

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar on Monday said the government is ready to set up a parliamentary committee over the ordinance issued a day earlier for conversion of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) into a limited company.Issuing a policy statement from the floor of National Assembly, the Finance Minister said prior to reaching any conclusion the opposition should first go through the ordinance.Defending the issuance of the ordinance, he said the government adhered to all the legal requirements in promulgating this ordinance.’We are restructuring PIA and the purpose of the ordinance is to make it a corporate entity,’ he argued, adding that implementation of the ordinance will not lead to any kind of change in the rights and privileges of the PIA employees. He said if the opposition has objections over the ordinance, it can go ahead and present a resolution for its rejection in the lower house. He said the matter will be discussed with the opposition leader in the National Assembly and thereupon the speaker may constitute a committee to look into the issue.Defending the government’s decision to impose additional taxes, Ishaq Dar said there was a tax shortfall of Rs40 billion. He said taxes have either been imposed or raised only items that fall in the category of luxury goods.He said 58 percent of the proceeds from additional taxes will go to the provinces’ kitty while the federation will only receive its one third.