June 08, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 11, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, June 7: The jailed leaders of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, have blasted the government for its failure in maintaining the secrecy of the budget 2006-07 which has breached the privilege of the whole constitution.

In a hand-written statement from Adiala Jail on Tuesday, former speaker Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani said that he had been part of parliament during the presentation of 10 to 12 budgets, but it was for the first time that the nation knew about the budgetary proposals much before the speech in the National Assembly.

He said the budget had offered just peanuts to the salaried class people, as it was not enough to meet the inflationary pressures. He condemned the increase in the defence budget and said that there was no justification for it at a time when the government had been going for confidence-building measures with India.

Mr Gillani said the government had chosen to provide daily use items at cheaper rates at the utility stores and it was a fact that only a small percentage of population had access to the utility stores. He alleged the government was adopting the path of non-documented economy.

The PPP leader said that import of duty-free tractors was announced in the last year’s budget and specific importers were given quotas but no tractor reached the farmers at the reduced price. He said it was a pro-elite budget neglecting the agriculture sector and with no steps to check the increasing inflation.

Acting President of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Javed Hashmi in his statement from Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore, predicted that the nation would witness another mini-budget in the next few days. He said the government had stabbed in the nation’s back and the budget was nothing but a drama. He said the government was using gun to hide its failure.

Mr Hashmi criticised the increase in the defence budget and said the nation wanted to know whether the allocated amount in the defence budget was utilised for the country’s defence or it was spent on decoration of the bungalows of generals.