Taimur Khan Jhagra

former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Taimur Khan Jhagra is a former Finance Minister and Health Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Jhagra has said that the province's tax revenue tripled within three years. He has also described the health card as the most transformative social sector initiative in Pakistan's history.

Entry into politics

Jhagra has said that he entered politics in 2018, when the health card was a major campaign issue. He has said that when he left a career he was given the choice of keeping or withdrawing his pension contributions. He has also said that he took out his savings to contest an election and still lives on them. [1]

Finance Minister

Jhagra has said that in a meeting in April or May 2019 he was present as Finance Minister, alongside the Chief Minister. He has said that the first duty of a provincial finance minister is to represent the province's interests, and that his intent was to represent the interests of his province. He has said that his intent was not to sabotage an IMF deal. Jhagra has said that he wrote a letter on 26 August, after thinking it through. He has also said that a letter was not sent to the IMF. [1]

Tax and revenue

Jhagra has said that the body that collected sales tax on services was moved out of the excise department, whose reputation was not good, and placed under finance. He has said that he created a tailor-made bonus system for an organisation, under which salaries would double or triple in line with the targets it achieved. He has said that he chaired a meeting and stock-take roughly every month for about four years, discussing actual targets. He has said that overall tax revenue rose from 25 billion to 75 billion rupees. [1]

Jhagra has said that for the hotel industry, 5% was applied instead of 15%, and that revenue from the hospitality sector rose about threefold. He has said that 30 to 40% of the money came from the telecom sector. He has said that telecom rates for consumers are low, so no cut was made to the telecom tax rate, after speaking with independent experts. He has also said that for many untaxed sectors, the tax rate was started at around 1%. [1]

Jhagra has said that the overall tax on land acquisition was cut from 7% to 2%, and that land tax revenue rose from about 4 billion to 7 billion rupees in that year. He has said that the federal government has also imposed dubiously legal taxes on land, so the total tax rate can be as high as 15%. [1]

Health card

Jhagra has said that the first version of the health card began in 2015. He has said that a small donor project, involving a German aid agency, came before it, and that in 2015 the then Chief Minister and the then Health Minister launched the card in four districts, covering four percent of the population. He has said that coverage was expanded from four percent of the population to 20 or 25 percent, and that about 50,000 people a year used the health card in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. [1]

Jhagra has said that his calculation showed that 10 to 15 billion rupees could cover the whole population. He has said that a contract was cancelled and the procurement was run again, and that a bidder who bid 2800 won a procurement worth 20 billion rupees a year without a single complaint. According to Jhagra, a contract signing took place in August 2020, during the COVID period, at the Prime Minister's House. [1]

Jhagra has said that 17 crore (170 million) Pakistanis are now health insured. He has said that about 120,000 people a month now use the health card in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that about 250,000 people a month use it in Punjab. He has said that about six million people used it across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, mostly in the last year and a half. He has said that when the scheme was made universal, 11 percent of the spending went to public hospitals, and that the share is now 33 percent. He has also said that 41 hospitals were removed from the health card programme in its last cycle. [1]

Jhagra has said that the average health facility had an operational budget of about 28,000 rupees, and that separate health management councils were created for those facilities, which were then given a top-up operational budget. He has said that the whole health system cannot be based only on health insurance, though insurance can be its foundation. [1]

Pension reform

Jhagra has said that employees who joined from 1 July 2022 get a funded, defined contribution pension instead of an unfunded one. He has said that employees pay 10% of salary and the government pays 12% into the pension fund, and that the government gave pension funds to 11 large private fund managers because it lacked capacity to run them. He has said that a pension tax, as he put it, was levied on a group of officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when they asked for a salary increase. He expects the pension fund of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to reach at least 250 billion rupees within 10 years. [1]

Jhagra has warned that pensions could go unpaid within 10 years, perhaps 5, if the system is not changed. He has said that a funded pension system would remove the taxpayer burden and allow fair pay rises within 5 to 10 years, and that when money is short, giving everyone a rise of a rupee or two incentivizes people to steal. He has said that he sees no other leader who would have let him carry out pension reform. He has also said that the federation should have sat with him to work out how to bring a contributory pension system to all of Pakistan in parallel, if he could introduce one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. [1]

Views

Jhagra has said that Imran Khan is the leader who could take difficult decisions in Pakistan, and that Pakistan would not be in its current state had Imran Khan's government completed five years. He has said that a large share of the credit for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's change goes to Imran Khan and his governance, and that the province's progress over the last ten years brought it into the national mainstream. He has said that the autonomy given to the provinces was given very grudgingly. [1]

Jhagra has said that Pakistan is not in a good place and that its economy will need a hard reset. He has said that this could be Pakistan's India 1991 moment. He has said that Pakistan's tax-to-GDP ratio was 9.5% in 2000, in 2010, and today, that education spending is about 2% of GDP and should be 4 to 5%, and that health spending is about $20 a head per year and should be about $40. [1]

Jhagra has said that the attitude toward government is the same as it was in the time of the British. He has also said that he is confident the security situation will not be as bad as in 2008 to 2010. [1]

Personal life

Jhagra has said that he has one passport and a stake in the country. He has said that he lived in the UK for two years and paid 40% tax on his earnings there. [1]

Timeline

2015
Jhagra says the first version of the health card began, launched in four districts by the then Chief Minister and Health Minister.[1]
2018
Jhagra says he entered politics, when the health card was a major campaign issue.[1]
2019
Jhagra says he was present as Finance Minister at a meeting in April or May, alongside the Chief Minister.[1]
2020
Jhagra says a contract signing took place in August at the Prime Minister's House.[1]
2022
Jhagra says employees joining from 1 July get a funded, defined contribution pension.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-03-03 Pakistan's pension system will collapse in ten years Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Taimur Khan Jhagra?

Taimur Khan Jhagra is a former Finance Minister and Health Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Jhagra has said that he entered politics in 2018, when the health card was a major campaign issue.[1]

What did Taimur Khan Jhagra do as Finance Minister?

Jhagra has said that the first duty of a provincial finance minister is to represent the province's interests. He has said that the province's tax revenue tripled within three years and that overall tax revenue rose from 25 billion to 75 billion rupees.[1]

When did Taimur Khan Jhagra enter politics?

Taimur Khan Jhagra has said that he entered politics in 2018, when the health card was a major campaign issue. He has also said that he took out his savings to contest an election and still lives on them.[1]

What has Taimur Khan Jhagra said about the health card?

Taimur Khan Jhagra has described the health card as the most transformative social sector initiative in Pakistan's history. He has said that the first version began in 2015 and that 17 crore (170 million) Pakistanis are now health insured.[1]

What has Taimur Khan Jhagra said about pension reform?

Taimur Khan Jhagra has said that employees who joined from 1 July 2022 get a funded, defined contribution pension instead of an unfunded one. He has said that employees pay 10% of salary and the government pays 12% into the pension fund. He has warned that pensions could go unpaid within 10 years, perhaps 5, if the system is not changed.[1]

Which province did Taimur Khan Jhagra serve?

Taimur Khan Jhagra is a former Finance Minister and Health Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. He has said that the province's progress over the last ten years brought it into the national mainstream.[1]

What has Taimur Khan Jhagra said about Imran Khan?

Taimur Khan Jhagra has said that Imran Khan is the leader who could take difficult decisions in Pakistan. He has said that Pakistan would not be in its current state had Imran Khan's government completed five years.[1]

What has Taimur Khan Jhagra said about Pakistan's economy?

Taimur Khan Jhagra has said that Pakistan is not in a good place and that its economy will need a hard reset. He has also said that Pakistan's tax-to-GDP ratio was 9.5% in 2000, in 2010, and today.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan's pension system will collapse in ten years . Thought Behind Things , 2023-03-03.
Show the source passages (67 statements)
  1. Taimur Khan Jhagra is a former Finance Minister and Health Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Taimur Khan Jhagra is the Former Finance Minister & Health Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan.
  2. Taimur says that in a meeting in April or May 2019 he was present as Finance Minister, alongside the Chief Minister. Ek meeting ho rahi thi 2019 April May mein jismein mujhe attendees bhi yaad hain Chief Minister sahab thay, main tha as Finance Minister.
  3. Taimur says he entered politics in 2018, when the health card was a major campaign issue. 2018 mein jab main politics mein aaya toh jo ek cheez jispe election campaign mein badi baat hoti thi woh health card ki thi.
  4. Taimur says the first duty of a provincial finance minister is to represent the province's interests. jab main soobay ka wazeer-e-khazana hota hoon na, mera pehla kaam soobay ka interest represent karna hai
  5. Taimur says his intent was to represent the interests of his province. The thought process was to represent the interests of my province.
  6. Taimur says his intent was not to sabotage an IMF deal. I can assure you the thought process was not to sabotage an IMF deal.
  7. Taimur says he has one passport and a stake in the country. mere paas toh ek hi passport hai. I have a stake in this country
  8. Taimur says the province's tax revenue tripled within three years. Humne Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein chota base tha lekin tax revenue 3 saal mein teen guna badhaya.
  9. Taimur says the body that collected sales tax on services was moved out of the excise department, whose reputation was not good, and placed under finance. jo sales tax on services collect karti thi, woh excise department jiski reputation achi nahi thi, use hata ke finance ke neeche laya
  10. Taimur says he created a tailor-made bonus system for an organisation, under which salaries would double or triple in line with the targets it achieved. Us organization ke liye ek bespoke yani tailor-made bonus system banaya ke aap jo targets achieve karenge, uske mutabiq aapki tankhwah do guna, teen guna badh jayegi.
  11. Taimur says he chaired a meeting and stock-take roughly every month for about four years, discussing actual targets. Maine yeh koi 4 saal takreeban har mahine ek ek unki meeting, ek ek stock take jo hai woh chair ki hai aur unse baat actual targets pe hi ki hai.
  12. Taimur says that for the hotel industry, 5% was applied instead of 15%. hotel industry, jahan pe humne 15 ke bajaye 5% kiya
  13. Taimur says revenue from the hospitality sector rose about threefold. Hamari hospitality sector se revenue koi teen guna badha.
  14. Taimur says 30 to 40% of the money came from the telecom sector. hamara chunke 30-40% paisa telecom sector se hi aata tha
  15. Taimur says telecom rates for consumers are low, so no cut was made to the telecom tax rate, after speaking with independent experts. telecom sector ke jo yahan pe rates hain consumers ke liye woh kam hain, toh wahan pe humne tax rate nahi kam kiya, independent experts ke saath baat karke
  16. Taimur says that for many untaxed sectors, the tax rate was started at around 1%. lekin bahut se woh sectors jo ke untaxed the, wahan pe humne kaam aise kiya ke tax rate takreeban 1% se shuru kiya
  17. Taimur says the overall tax on land acquisition was cut from 7% to 2%. Khan sahab ke time mein overall land acquisition pe jab tax 7% se 2% kiya
  18. Taimur says land tax revenue rose from about 4 billion to 7 billion rupees in that year. Us saal hamara tax revenue actually 4 arab se 7 arab tak badha land tax ka.
  19. Taimur says the federal government has also imposed dubiously legal taxes on land, so the total tax rate can be as high as 15%. federal government ne koi dubiously legal taxes land pe bhi lagaye hain to total tax rate can be as high as 15%
  20. Taimur says overall tax revenue rose from 25 billion to 75 billion rupees. hamari tax revenue KPRA mein 10 se 30 arab hui, overall 25 se 75 arab hui
  21. Taimur says the first version of the health card began in 2015. Health card shuru iska pehla version jo hai woh 2015 mein hua tha
  22. Taimur says a small donor project, involving a German aid agency, came before it. usse pehle yeh ek chhota sa donor project tha German jo aid agency hai
  23. Taimur says that in 2015 the then Chief Minister and the then Health Minister launched the card in four districts, covering four percent of the population. 2015 mein uswaqt ke Chief Minister Pervez Khattak aur uswaqt ke Health Minister Shahram Tarakai ne jo hai woh yeh chaar districts mein chaar feesad population ke liye shuru karaya
  24. Taimur says coverage was expanded from four percent of the population to 20 or 25 percent. unhone badhaya chaar percent population se 25 percent population ko ya 20 percent population ko jo BISP ke beneficiaries thay
  25. Taimur says about 50,000 people a year used the health card in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein saal mein taqreeban 50,000 log isko istemal karte thay saal mein
  26. Taimur says his calculation showed that 10 to 15 billion rupees could cover the whole population. maine dekha aur ek calculation ki ke 10 15 arab rupaye mein toh saari population cover hoti thi
  27. Taimur says a contract was cancelled and the procurement was run again. State Life ka contract jo hai woh cancel karke re-procurement karayi
  28. Taimur says a bidder who bid 2800 won a procurement worth 20 billion rupees a year without a single complaint. unhone 2800 mein bid karke ek aisi bid mein jo 20 arab rupaye ki saalana procurement thi without a single complaint woh jeet gaye
  29. Taimur says a contract signing took place in August 2020, during the COVID period, at the Prime Minister's House. contract signing hum kar rahe thay na COVID ke dinon mein August 2020 mein Prime Minister House mein
  30. Taimur says 17 crore (170 million) Pakistanis are now health insured. Aaj hum fakhr se keh sakte hain ke 17 crore Pakistani jo hai woh health insured hai.
  31. Taimur says about 120,000 people a month now use the health card in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 1,20,000 log har mahine Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein istemal karte hain
  32. Taimur says about 250,000 people a month use the health card in Punjab. 2,50,000 log har mahine Punjab mein istemal karte hain
  33. Taimur says about six million people used the health card across KP and Punjab, mostly in the last year and a half. Cheh million yaani 60 lakh logon ne yeh across KP and Punjab istemal kiya hai mostly in the last year and a half
  34. Taimur says that when the scheme was made universal, 11 percent of the spending went to public hospitals, and the share is now 33 percent. jab humne isko universal kiya, 11 percent kharcha public hospitals mein hota tha, woh aaj 33 percent ho raha hai
  35. Taimur says 41 hospitals were removed from the health card programme in its last cycle. Aakhri cycle mein health card mein humne 41 hospitals ko nikala aur isi liye nikala ke jo cost of irregularity honi chahiye na, woh bari high honi chahiye
  36. Taimur says the health card is the most transformative social sector initiative in Pakistan's history. Mere khayal mein health card is the most transformative social sector initiative in the history of Pakistan.
  37. Taimur says the average health facility had an operational budget of about 28,000 rupees. hamari average health facility ka jo operational budget hota tha na, woh takreeban 28,000 rupay hota tha
  38. Taimur says separate health management councils were created for those facilities, which were then given a top-up operational budget. unko humne ek alaihda ek ek health management council bana ke unko ek top up operational budget diya
  39. Taimur says a pension tax, as he put it, was levied on a group of officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when they asked for a salary increase. jab wahan pe Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein DMG officers ek increase maang rahe thay salary mein toh unse ek pension tax if you like liya
  40. Taimur says employees who joined from 1 July 2022 get a funded, defined contribution pension instead of an unfunded one. qanoon banaya ke 1 July 2022 se jo saaray naye employees aayenge unko unfunded nahi funded pension milegi, ek defined contribution system milega
  41. Taimur says employees pay 10% of salary and the government pays 12% into the pension fund. woh apne tankha ka 10 percent ek pension fund mein daalenge, hukumat 10 percent nahi 12 percent daalegi
  42. Taimur says the government gave pension funds to 11 large private fund managers because it lacked capacity to run them. kyunke government mein capacity nahi hoti humne 11 bade fund managers ko jo private sector ke hain unko de diya
  43. Taimur warns that pensions could go unpaid within 10 years, perhaps 5, if the system is not changed. agar nizam na badla toh 10 saal ke andar, shayad 5 saal ke andar usko paise nahi milenge
  44. Taimur says he sees no other leader who would have let him carry out pension reform. Mujhe koi aur leader nahi nazar aa raha jo mujhe pension reform karne deta
  45. Taimur says Imran Khan is the leader who could take difficult decisions in Pakistan. mere khayal mein agar ek leader actually Pakistan mein yeh mushkil faisle le sakta hai na woh Imran Khan hai
  46. Taimur says Pakistan would not be in its current state had Imran Khan's government completed five years. agar Imran Khan ki government 5 saal rehti to bilkul bhi woh haal na hota jo aaj ho
  47. Taimur says Pakistan's economy will need a hard reset. Abhi Pakistan ki economy ka ek hard reset hi hoga
  48. Taimur says Pakistan is not in a good place. Pakistan is not in a good place.
  49. Taimur says this could be Pakistan's India 1991 moment. yeh Pakistan ka India 1991 moment ho sakta hai
  50. Taimur says the attitude toward government is the same as it was in the time of the British. Mujhe kabhi kabhi lagta hai ke government ki taraf jo hamara attitude hai na, woh wahi hai jo angrez ke waqt ka hota tha
  51. Taimur says Pakistan's tax-to-GDP ratio was 9.5% in 2000, in 2010, and today. jab hamara 2000 mein 9.5% tax to GDP tha, 2010 mein 9.5% tax to GDP tha aur aaj hamara 9.5% tax to GDP hai
  52. Taimur says education spending is about 2% of GDP and should be 4 to 5%. Education pe hamara 2% of GDP lagta hai, lagna 4-5% hai
  53. Taimur says health spending is about $20 a head per year and should be about $40. Health mein hamara takreeban 20 dollar per head per year lagta hai, lagna koi 40 dollar per head per year hai
  54. Taimur says he lived in the UK for two years and paid 40% tax on his earnings there. Jab main UK mein tha 2 saal toh meri kamai pe 40% tax jo hai woh diya jaata tha
  55. Taimur says he left a career and was given the choice of keeping or withdrawing his pension contributions. jaise jab maine apna career chora, unhone mujhe kaha ke agar aap isko apni pension ki taraf daalna chahte hain toh pension ki taraf daalein, agar aap saaray apne paise lena chahte hain toh le lein
  56. Taimur says he took out his savings to contest an election and still lives on them. Maine election larna tha toh maine kaha yaar mujhe apne paise chahiye, aaj bhi main un savings se hi reh raha hoon.
  57. Taimur expects KP's pension fund to reach at least 250 billion rupees within 10 years. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ka pension fund 10 saal mein do 250 arab rupay ka minimum ho jayega
  58. Taimur says a funded pension system would remove the taxpayer burden and allow fair pay rises within 5 to 10 years. agar aapka pension ka nizam funded ho toh tax payer pe bojh khatam aur aapke paas 5 10 saal mein ability aa jayegi ke aap logon ko commensurate increases de sakte hain
  59. Taimur says that when money is short, giving everyone a rise of a rupee or two incentivizes people to steal. Paise nahi hotay toh har kisi ko ek ek do do rupay increase dete hain aur that incentivizes people to steal.
  60. Taimur says a letter was not sent to the IMF. Aap woh khat dekh lein, IMF ko nahi bheja, main yeh challenge karta hoon ke koi banda siwaye Miftah Ismail us khat ki copy apne phone se nikale
  61. Taimur says he wrote a letter on 26 August, after thinking it through. 26 August ko unko khat likha, soch ke likha
  62. Taimur says KP's progress over the last ten years brought it into the national mainstream. jo 10 saal mein Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tarakki kar gaya hai na woh national mainstream mein aa gaya hai
  63. Taimur says a large share of the credit for KP's change goes to Imran Khan and his governance. mere khayal mein ek bahut bada credit Imran Khan ko aur unki governance ko Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein jaata hai
  64. Taimur says he is confident the security situation will not be as bad as in 2008 to 2010. I am confident ke security situation 2008-9-10 ki tarah kharab nahi hogi
  65. Taimur says the federation should have sat with him to work out how to bring a contributory pension system to all of Pakistan in parallel, if he could introduce one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Wafaq ko chahiye tha ke mere saath baithe ke agar main Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein contributory pension system la sakta hoon toh hum poore Pakistan mein kaise in parallel le aayein
  66. Taimur says the autonomy given to the provinces was given very grudgingly. jo humne autonomy soobon ko di hai woh badi grudgingly di hai
  67. Taimur says the whole health system cannot be based only on health insurance, though insurance can be its foundation. Aapka poora system health insurance based sirf nahi ho sakta, woh uski ek foundation ya buniyaad zaroor ho sakta hai