Colleagues praise Miftah for presenting 'best budget'.

ISLAMABAD -- Two federal ministers from the Pakistan Muslim LeaAgAue-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday showeAred praises on Finance Minister MifAtah Ismail in the National Assembly for presenting the 'best budget' at a time when the country was facing the 'worst economic crisis' in history.

Another federal minister, Syed Khursheed Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), however, was not so forthcoming in his praise. Instead, he criticised Mr Ismail for not heeding to his suggestion regarding imposition of heavy taxes on cigarettes.

Mr Shah also lamented the absence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet members from the house on the concluding day of the budget debate.

'The ministers should have been sitting [in the house] today. And I regret to say that even the prime minister should also be present here,' said Mr Shah.

Khursheed Shah insists on imposing more tax on cigarettes; Khawaja Asif says representatives of tobacco lobby hold sway, parliament 'cannot tax them'

The PPP veteran, who holds the portfolio of water resources, once again protested over the lacklustre proceedings due to the large absenteeism despite the fact that Minister for Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq, at the outset of the sitting, had himself pointed out that a number of MNAs had gone to Nawabshah to condole with former president Asif Zardari over the death of his stepmother.

Mr Shah said smoking was prohibited in almost all the developed countries due to environmental and health issues. When he had raised the issue in the cabinet, the prime minister had agreed with him. 'Then why are we not imposing tax on cigarettes?' he questioned.

He said it was the responsibility of the government and parliament to save the people from various diseases caused by smoking. It was the government that had to spend billions of rupees on treating the affected people. He said he had suggested a 100 per cent increase in tax on cigarettes, and also challenged that the industry paid Rs150 billion in tax.

Mr Shah, however, admitted that the budget was favourable for the agriculture sector.

Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf endorsed Mr Shah's point and asked the finance minister to consider the proposals. Finance Minister Ismail, who had already delivered his winding up speech on the budget, took the floor again, and without making any commitment said the cigarette industry was paying Rs150bn in tax and that he would collect more than Rs200bn from...