The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government presented its budget for the fiscal year 2017-18 on Friday in Punjab Assembly amid cry from the opposition. This was the fifth and final budget presented by the government. The session was scheduled to start at 2:30 PM but instead it started at 4:12 PM.
Prior to the session, opposition parties had decided to impede the session through sloganeering, during the speech of the finance minister. For this purpose, lawmakers from the opposition parties were fully prepared and had designed special ribbons with ‘Go Nawaz Go’ inscribed on them.
Opposition leader Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed entered the house with other lawmakers of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), wearing black ribbons on his head, whereas lawmakers from other parties were also wearing black ribbons on their hands.
As Finance Minister Ayesha Ghaus Pasha began her budget speech, lawmakers from the opposition benches started their protest against the government. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was also present in the House.
The protestors’ slogans were so loud that understanding the budget speech became impossible. The opposition lawmakers tore the budget’s copies.
‘Go Nawaz Go’, seemed to have been the favourite slogan for the opposition. Dakoo (Dacoits), ‘gali gali mein shor hay Nawaz Sharif chor hay’ (the word on the street is that Nawaz Sharif is a thief), Chor Chor (thief) and other slogans were also hurled at the treasury benches which provoked the lawmakers from the ruling party who in turn raised slogans against Imran Khan.
PTI lawmakers were leading the protest in the assembly. They were equipped with whistles which they kept on blowing throughout the budget speech. According to senior reporters, who had been reporting the assembly proceedings regularly, this was the first time that opposition adopted such a tactic during the budget speech. The noise of blowing whistles and chanting slogans created a raucous in the house. The guests sitting in the gallery of the House, however, did manage a smile amidst the noise.
Finance minister continued her speech despite the noise and completed it successfully. However, on some points, she had to repeat the sentences that showed that she too was feeling the pressure being exerted by the opposition.