PPP leaders say budget ideal, Opp terms it ‘for international lenders’

Politicians from the ruling alliance praised the annual budget 2011-12 and said it was an ideal financial document while politicians from the opposition parties criticised it saying it was a budget of international money lenders and was against common man’s expectations.
PPP central leader Babar Awan said the PPP government had given a good budget in the present scenario of economic challenges and global recession. He said economic managers across the world were facing difficulties and the government had given a remarkable budget within the available resources. Awan said the budget promised the flow of country’s economy in a positive direction.
Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairwoman Farzana Raja said formulating the federal budget in such circumstances was a hard task and its presentation in the House was a big achievement for the government. She said the Finance Ministry would release funds for the BISP and no cut would be made in a programme solely for the people.
Federal minister and PPP Lahore President Samina Ghurki said the federal budget for the fiscal year 2011-12 was a historic one and people-friendly.
She said a large amount had been allocated in the budget for development projects, adding that revolutionary steps had been taken in the budget including bringing down fiscal deficit to four percent, controlling the price hike and increasing the salaries of the government employees by 15 percent and a hike in pension between 15 to 20 percent.
Former federal minister and PPP Punjab President Imtaiz Safdar Waraich said the government was making all-out efforts to improve the living standard of the people. Waraich said the budget would help resolve problems of the people.
PPP Punjab General Secretary Samiullah Khan called the budget people-friendly and welcomed the increase in the salaries of government employees.
PPP leader Tanvir Ashraf Kaira said the government had empowered the provinces by awarding the NFC to them and taking practical steps for an independent judiciary.
MQM leader Farooq Sattar stressed the need for taking steps for the economic uplift of the country’s people. He said more job opportunities should be created for the people and the tax system should be improved on a priority basis. Sattar said the country was already facing problems such as terrorism, law and order, unemployment, inflation and poverty and urged the government to give more relief to the poor in the budget.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan said reaction and protest by the opposition members during the budget session was what he called bad governance.
“The government should have shown real picture of this country. This is not the situation you see in the country…It’s not the time to sit in air-conditioned rooms and thump desks,” Nisar said.
PML-N MNA Hanif Abbasi said the budget did not fulfil the expectations of the peoples’ representatives. He said the problems had been identified in the budget but their solutions had not been given.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan said the budget was anti-masses and political leaders who supported the budget in the National Assembly would be equally responsible for suppressing the masses.
He called the federal budget a jugglery of words, saying that no significant project had to be launched for socio-economic development and welfare of the people. Imran said the budget had disappointed the poor of the country who were bearing brunt of the war against terrorism.
JI chief Munawar Haasan and Secretary General Liaquat Baloch called the annual budget 2011-12 “the budget of international money lenders and not of the people of Pakistan”.
They were of the view that 15 percent raise in the salaries of government employees was totally inadequate in comparison to a 25 percent price rise in the outgoing year.
The JI leaders said the government seemed bent upon acquiring foreign and domestic loans which would lead to further increase in taxes, POL prices as well as electricity and gas charges.
APML spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said the current year’s budget had been designed against expectations of the common man as no relief had been announced in the mounting charges of electricity, POL and commodities prices.