ISLAMABAD: The government plans to present an austerity-oriented budget providing a `slight` relief to middle and low grade government employees, including military personnel, with no increase in the salaries of army of ficials of higher ranks.

This was said by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information Dr Firdous Ashig Awan at a joint news conference with SAPM on Accountability Shahzad Akbar here on Sunday.

In an apparent reference to the opposition`s plan to launch anti-government protests and disrupt the budget proceedings in parliament, Dr Awan warned that `the agitators will be dealt with an iron hand if they violate the law`.

She claimed that the opposition would not get any support from the masses and their proposed agitation campaign would turn out to be a mere `tall claim`.

Talking about the coming federal budget for fiscal year 2019-20, which is being announced on Tuesday (tomorrow), Dr Awan said the military authorities had decided that senior army officials from the rank of colonel to the chief of army staff (COAS) would not get any raise in their salaries and the defence budget would not be enhanced this year.

`COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has conveyed to us that senior army officials from the rank of colonel and above, including himself, will not get any raise in their salaries keeping in view the prevailing economic crisis,` she said.

However, the SAPM said, the government officials from grade 1 to 16 and armyofficials below the ranks of colonel would get increase in their salaries, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan was holding meetings on the budget to consider further relief to the low-salaried employees.

`It will be an austerity-oriented budget which will reflect manifesto of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) as expenditures of all federal ministries/divisions and institutions will be slashed,` she added.

Dr Awan rejected media reports that all economic indicators were showing negative trend and that the government had missed all economic targets.

`The prime minister has set his government`s priorities in the budget aimed at eco-nomic stability and relief to the poor and low-salaried class while well-of f people will have to share the burden of severe economic crunch with the government,` she said.

Dr Awan said Prime Minister Khan had directed the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to spend the amount of the defence budget ceded by the military authorities on the people of tribal districts.

She said uplift of downtrodden segments of society was a top priority of the PTI government in its first federal budget. She said it would be the incumbent government`s hrst budget that had been prepared by engaging an economic team and keeping in view national requirements, adding that the country needed a sustainable economy that would take care of everybody.

The SAPM on Accountability, Shahzad Akbar, said the current tax amnesty scheme would be the last one and no extension would be made after expiry of its June 30 deadline.

`No public office holder will get benefit from the scheme,` he added.

Talking about performance of Assets Recovery Unit functioning under him, the SAPM on accountability said the unit had so far traced 150,000 offshore bank accounts of Pakistani nationals and over 12,000 properties owned by Pakistanis abroad through information received from 26 countries.

`We have so far traced foreign assets of Pakistanis worth $12 billion,` Mr Akbar added.

He said Pakistan and the UK had recently signed an agreement under which the two sides would exchange banking information of each other`s nationals.

He said an extradition treaty would also be signed by the two countries with the condition that Pakistan would not award capital punishment to those who would be extradited from the UK.

Mr Akbar said a separate MoU had been signed with the UK authorities specifically for extradition of former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

Answering questions about alleged offshore assets of federal ministers Faisal Vawda and Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Mr Akbar said cases of both ministers were at compliant verification stage in NAB.

`As far as I know, Faisal Vawda has already declared his offshore assets,` the SAPM on accountability added.

Asked about leaking of information shared by a foreign country regarding alleged foreign assets of Justice Isa, Mr Akbar said the action against the judge had been taken on a complaint and not on any information received from a foreign country.

Later, the PM Office issued a handout saying that the prime minister had chaired a meeting to review the budgetary proposals.

The meeting was attended by Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Adviser on Commerce Razak Dawood, Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Reza Baqir, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue Shabbar Zaidi and senior finance ministry of ficials.

Earlier, Dr Awan said the prime minister will soon apprise the nation about his government`s priorities set inthefederalbudget.

Dr Awan said the oppositionleaderscouldnotlaunch any campaign against the government as people of the country would not take to the streets on their call.

`The people know how opposition leaders have looted the country during the last10 years and thatis why except a few paid employees of the PML-N, no one went to the airport to receive Shahbaz Sharif.

In a late-night development, the Prime Minister Office announced that PM Khan would address the nation on Monday (today) at 9am.