Treasury benches reject opposition’s concerns
Incidents of burning of women and the clash between Hafiz Hamdullah and Marvi Sirmed also discussed in the House
Opposition legislators said on Saturday that the size of the government’s begging bowl had increased which was endangering the country’s sovereignty. The treasury benches, however, rejected their concern.
Resuming debate on the budget in the National Assembly, the opposition legislators said the budget needs to be people-oriented and alleged that it might actually benefit the contractor and commission mafia.
They said the federal budget should be thoroughly discussed in the parliament’s standing committees.
Beelum Hasnain of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), criticising the budget, said salaries and perks of government servants should be increased, and uniformity brought to the civil service structure.
Arifa Khalid Pervaiz of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) termed the budget as balanced and growth-oriented saying the middle class should be provided maximum facilities. She demanded more facilities for women.
Aqibullah of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said no policy had been devised for overcoming huge budget deficit of Rs 1,615 billion. It seems that the government has simply increased the size of the ‘begging bowl’, he alleged.
He criticised the elimination of subsidy, saying subsidy on fertilisers had been decreased significantly. He claimed that the government had achieved revenue targets through indirect taxes while Rs 138 billion as direct taxes had not been received from the rich.
He alleged that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was being deprived of its share of allocated development funds.
Malik Shakir Bashir Awan of PML-N lauded the incentives offered in the budget for the agriculture sector. He demanded zero-rated duty on import of machinery.
He said the interest on agriculture loans taken by Thal farmers should be abolished and electricity tariff of Khushab farmers should be fixed. He also demanded that a university campus be established in Khushab district.
INCIDENTS OF BURNING OF WOMEN:
PPP’s Nafeesa Shah drew the attention of the House towards recent incidents of burning of women. The crimes were perpetrated mostly by their own community members and close relatives, which was a matter of great concern, she said.
She called for adopting a resolution to condemn such incidents and taking action and enacting necessary legislation in this regard. She demanded a powerful body to be set up to probe crimes against women.
Criticising the Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC), she said the opposition will not be responsible for any future division in the WPC.
Terming the federal budget as ‘offshore budget’, she said the PPP was doing positive politics as opposition. She emphasised the need for producing less expensive electricity. Foreign loans are likely to increase to $90 billion by 2018, she added.
Aasiya Nasir of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) demanded maximum role of elected representatives in the budget formulation process, saying budget should be discussed fully in the standing committees.
She lamented that contrary to the claims of the government, unemployment has increased in the country. The consumption of flour and milk has decreased due to increase in poverty and high prices, she added.
THE MARVI-HAMDULLAH INCIDENT:
At the very outset of the proceedings, Shireen Mazari of PTI drew the attention of the speaker towards the incident of attempted thrashing of Marvi Sirmed by JUI-F Senator Hafiz Hamdullah during a TV show and urged the speaker to do something for safeguarding the prestige of women.
Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said everyone should respect the women, irrespective of their political affiliation.
Participating in the debate, Ali Muhammad Khan of PTI underlined the importance of replacing the interest-based economic system in the country.
LET’S START FROM SCRATCH, ALI MUHAMMAD KHAN SAYS:
He said the country’s loan had touched about Rs 20,000 billion mark due to the policies of the previous governments.
No budget could give relief to people without replacing the current economic system, he added.
He said international conspiracies were being hatched to sabotage China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the country’s nuclear capability.
The PTI lawmaker stressed the need to stop maligning the politicians of the country.
Hamid Hameed said the opposition always criticises every budget, presented by any government. The PPP government never initiated a dam project in the country, he added.
He said the PML-N leadership has brought the country out of crisis with political wisdom and sincere efforts.
He said the Punjab province has the lowest share in CPEC projects compared to the other provinces of the country.
