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| June 7, 2005 | Tuesday | Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1426 |
Opposition stages walkout in NA, Senate
ISLAMABAD, June 6: Opposition walkouts and other protests greeted the national budget on Monday both in the National Assembly and Senate, where two senators from Balochistan hurled budget documents onto the floor. Opposition parties in both the houses protested mainly against the government’s failure to produce a National Finance Commission (NFC) award about provincial shares in federal revenues for the third year running, and President Pervez Musharraf’s reluctance to call what they called a mandatory joint sitting of parliament and address it.
But another objection made in the National Assembly was against the presentation of the budget by Minister of State Omar Ayub Khan in the presence of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who also holds the finance minister’s portfolio.
The walkout in the lower house before the presentation of the budget was only token despite a ruling from speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain rejecting all the three opposition objections raised through points of order by PPP chairman Amin Fahim, MMA’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and PML-N parliamentary leader Nisar Ali Khan.
But opposition parties in the Senate did not return after marching out following the document-throwing incident, which was later condemned by 14 ruling coalition members in speeches before the house was adjourned until 3pm on Wednesday.
Objections in the Senate against alleged violations of the constitution by the government by not announcing the NFC award and not calling the joint sitting were raised by opposition leader Raza Rabbani, MMA parliamentary leader Prof Khurshid Ahmed, Raza Mohammad Raza of PKMP and Sanaullah Baloch of BNP (Mengal).
Mr Baloch threw some budget documents onto the floor after chairman Mohammedmian Soomro cut short his speech that mainly protested against absence of the NFC award and alleged deprivations of smaller provinces.
But while Mr Baloch was still arguing with the chair, BNM senator Aslam Buledi, seated next to him, threw away more bundles of the budget documents.
The situation seemed to have been somewhat calmed down after a ruling coalition ally from Balochistan, Mohim Khan Baloch of the BNP (Awami), also protested against the absence of the NFC award.
But Mr Rabbani led the opposition walkout after Mr Niazi laid the federal budget — as presented in the National Assembly — before the upper house without first replying to opposition objections, which he rejected afterwards in an opposition-less house.
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