KARACHI, June 15: Leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmad Khuhro on Thursday rejected the provincial budget for 2006-07, saying that it amounted to selling out Sindh’s rights and interests viz-a-viz the NFC, Kalabagh Dam and other issues.
He was addressing a news conference after the combined opposition staged a walkout following one of the longest ever protest in a single session. The opposition members remained on their feet for more than one hour trying to unnerve the Minister for Excise and Taxation, Syed Sardar Ahmad of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, who kept on reading his written speech.
Mr Khuhro, who was later joined in by some Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MPAs, said that as soon as recitation from the Holy Quran and Na’at was over, he had, on a point of order, tried to seek the speaker’s permission under 211 to highlight the anomalies in the order of the day and speak on other issues which the opposition thought were not properly addressed by the government.
Mr Khuhro said that the order of the day mentioned presentation of supplementary budget and the finance bill, if any. But the Sindh Assembly Rules, according to him, spoke of only budget speech on the opening day.
The Speaker, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, ruled that point of order was not maintainable because under Rule 116, nothing else could be taken up.
Mr Khuhro contended that when the Speaker had ‘allowed’ the treasury to take up other matters as well, as reflected in order of the day, he should have allowed the opposition also to speak on the NFC, government’s attitude on water issue, demolition of Goths and a host of other matters.
He claimed that the budget without the new NFC Award was not reflective of the existing realities and aspirations of the people of Sindh. He claimed that presentation of budget in such a situation was not only a ‘waste of time’ but this also tantamount to hoodwinking the deprived people of the province.
Mr Khuhro said that he wanted to ask the government why it was keeping a mum over Kamil Agha’s statement that “Kalabagh Dam would be constructed, come what may.” Mr Khuhro said that the people of Sindh had rejected the project and had termed it ‘a matter of life and death’. Mr Agha’s remarks amounted to building the dam over the corpses of the Sindh people. Mr Khuhro also criticised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and its chief for keeping silence on Mr Agha’s statement. “I want to know why the MQM and its founder have not reacted to his provocative statement,” said Mr Khuhro.
He also slammed the government for not holding the promised pre-budget session to facilitate preparation of the budget. He maintained that owing to the speaker’s attitude, his companions were on their feet chanting slogans and waiving placards.
Mr Khuhro said that the budget failed in terms of both granting relief to people and having a new NFC Award.
He claimed that the government had opted for excessive non-developmental expenditure. “Departments are guilty of indulging in unwarranted over-spending in areas of current expenditure.”
All budgets presented by this government were successive failures due to the absence of a true democratic set-up, he remarked. “A budget that is made without public involvement in the system can have no hope of success. The PPPP continues its struggle to attain the ‘true and sustained democracy’ in an effort to provide relief to the long-suffering masses of Pakistan,” said Mr Khuhro.
