All opposition parties in the Upper House except the JUI-F on Wednesday criticised the government for its economic and administrative policies, saying the government had failed to provide any kind of relief to the masses in the 2011-12 budget and had made a controversial appointment on the slot of Senate opposition leader.
Addressing a press conference along other opposition parties senators, Senator Ishaq Dar of the PML-N said the country’s external as well as internal loans had increased to a record level.
“Similarly, the government did not allocate any fund for the small scale manufactures,” he said, saying that Rs 73 billion in military pension was not part of Rs 495 billion fixed for defence in the upcoming fiscal year. He said the Senate chairman should consider its decision of appointing the leader of the opposition and “we have the option to move the Supreme Court against this decision”. He said the GDP growth was only 2.4 percent which meant there was no growth and it should also be increased. “Around 52 percent of the people live below the poverty line. State-owned enterprises including PIA, Pakistan Railways and Pakistan Steel Mills are wasting Rs 400 billion annually, which needs to be controlled,” he said.
JI’s Khurshid Ahmad said the government had destroyed the country’s economy and corruption was increasing with each passing day. He was of the view that NAB had remained ineffective in controlling corruption in the country.
“We have to move toward self-reliance instead of depending on foreign aid. The government has not been able to resolve the energy crises in the three years,” he added.
Senator Haroon Akhtar of the PML-Q Likeminded said the country had reduced power subsidies which he said would lead to an increase in the power tariff by around 24 percent during the upcoming financial year.
Abdur Reheem Mandokel said the government had neglected Balochistan in the 2011-12 budget.
