ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Saturday clarified that the FBR chairman’s office was not vacant.
In a clarification issued on Saturday, FBR spokesman and Member (IR-Policy) Dr Hamid Ateeq Sarwar said that FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi was currently on a medical leave and that he would assume his charge as FBR chief as soon as he gets medically fit.
“The position of FBR chairman is not vacant…Nausheen Javaid Amjad (BS-22 officer) is holding the look after charge in Zaidi’s absence, as notified by an FBR notification on 31st January 2020.”
In another clarification, the FBR spokesman denied giving any inputs to media regarding the ongoing talks between the government’s economic team with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation visiting Pakistan.
According to the spokesman, the talks between the two sides are ongoing for the release of the third tranche of the $6 billion bailout package.
“The FBR has given no statement to media on the ongoing talks,” he said, refuting the statements run by media outlets quoting FBR officials.
The first round of talks between IMF and FBR began on Tuesday. According to the media, issues pertaining to mini-budget and revenue targets were discussed during the meeting.
Zaidi should have known that he was just a pawn in the government’s efforts to fool the IMF into giving them money. There was no serious desire to raise tax revenue or reform the tax authority. There is no need when foreigners are happy to bail us out over and over and over again.