Opposition parties stage walkout from Senate over govt's 'budget strategy'

Published June 10, 2015
Commenting on a point of order, PPP Senator Saeed Ghani said that the government had assured the opposition parties that it will telecast the proceedings of the budget sessions of the National Assembly. -APP/file
Commenting on a point of order, PPP Senator Saeed Ghani said that the government had assured the opposition parties that it will telecast the proceedings of the budget sessions of the National Assembly. -APP/file

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties on Wednesday alleged that the government is not telecasting speeches of the members of the opposition on the budget and staged a token walkout from the Senate in protest against the government ‘strategy’ in this regard.

Commenting on a point of order, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Senator Saeed Ghani said that the government had assured the opposition parties that it will telecast the proceedings of the budget sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate but it failed to fulfill its promise as of yet.

The PPP senator said that the government only broadcast the speeches of the opposition leaders in the NA and the Senate but the government did not telecast the speeches of other members of the opposition in this regard.

“It is unfortunate that the government is telecasting the speeches of the members of the treasury benches but it is not telecasting the speeches of the members of the opposition benches and the opposition parties will not participate in budget proposals if the government does not change its attitude in this regard,” Ghani added.

Earlier, PML-Q Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that the government had failed to allocate funds for the National Counter Terrorism Authority while national security faces a lot of challenges from the eastern and western borders.

He also said that the government should provide compensation to the families of the martyrs of the Army Public School in Peshawar and the families of the polio workers that lost their lives in the line of duty.

“It is my recommendation to the government that it should allocate funds for the families of the journalists injured or lost their lives in the line of duty,” Syed added.

PML-N Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq said that the foreign reserves increased during the PML-N tenure while the government also allocates Rs20 billion for the Prime Minister Youth Program (PSDP) which would be helpful to create skilled youth in this regard.

She also said that the government also increased the PSDP budget for the year 2015-16 from Rs525bn to Rs700bn.

Pakistan calls on UN to take notice of Modi speech in Bangladesh

Pakistan on Wednesday called on the United Nations and the international community to take note of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Bangladesh.

Take a look: Modi blames Pakistan for spreading terrorism in India

Giving a policy statement in the Senate, Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement vindicates Pakistan stand over India’s present and past policies to destabilise Pakistan.

“The statement of Indian Prime Minister Modi that terrorism will counter terrorism is irresponsible,” he said.

Aziz also questioned India’s credibility to seek permanent membership in the UN Security Council when it is violating UN resolutions on Kashmir.

The adviser said that the people of Pakistan and Bangladesh are bound not only by the strong bonds of religious affinity, but also by the history of their struggle for independence against colonial rule.

Later, Chairman of the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani condemned Narendra Modi's remarks in Bangladesh.

Rabbani also said that India cannot create a wedge between Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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