Government is Collecting Extortion and Goon Tax from Public via Petroleum Levy, Says Farooq Sattar

(Digital Itla) MQM leader Farooq Sattar has termed the petroleum levy as extortion and a "goon tax." Expressing his views in the National Assembly, the leader of MQM Pakistan stated that the budget does not meet the public's expectations, describing Karachi as the goose that lays the golden egg but is being continuously slaughtered. He said that the roads are broken and gutters are overflowing in the city that earns the most, pointing out 18 years of corrupt governance. The MQM leader mentioned that Karachi faces 20 hours of load shedding and its engine of development has stalled, questioning what the state of other cities would be if exports from Karachi are not growing. He highlighted that 60% of taxes and 54% of exports come from Karachi, with 1,100 billion PKR out of 1,300 billion PKR in taxes being collected from Karachi alone. Farooq Sattar warned that if what is happening in Karachi is not stopped, it could lead to a national tragedy. He noted that even the Prime Minister's speech made no mention of Karachi, demanding direct funds for cities and criticizing the delay in local body elections, which could solve people's problems at their doorstep. He called for distributing Sindh's PKR 2,100 billion to the mayors of various cities, including Karachi.