June 14, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 13: The People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has criticized the government for allocating a huge amount for defence and ignoring the agriculture sector in the federal budget 2003-4.

Talking to newsmen here on Thursday, the PPP MNA Sherry Rehman questioned a 9.5-per cent raise in the defence budget, “particularly when efforts were being made to normalize relations with India.”

The PPP leader said Pakistan was spending 4.6 per cent of GDP on defence, which was much higher than India’s, where only 2.5 per cent of GDP was being spent on defence needs.

She said it was the right of the nation to know how 96 per cent of the revenue collected through taxes paid by them was being spent.

She criticized the involvement of serving and retired army men in civilian matters, and added that the army did not operate in the public sector in any other country.

Ms Rehman also provided a list of 66 units, including industrial concerns, which were being run under various foundations like Fauji Sugar Mills, Fauji Cement, Mari Gas Company under Fauji Foundation, farms and mills under Army Welfare Trust, airline and cargo services under Shaheen Foundation and construction and trading companies under Bahria Foundation.

Earlier, PPP’s deputy parliamentary party leader in the National Assembly, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, criticized the government for ignoring agricultural sector, and not making sufficient allocations in the budget for various schemes.

The MNA said agriculture had shown a negative growth in the past three years. He challenged the government’s claim that this year agricultural growth would be 4.2 per cent.