PESHAWAR: Opposition leader in the National Assembly and PPP central leader Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah on Thursday said efforts were underway to form the united opposition to raise a forceful voice against the federal government’s wrong policies and check ‘mini-budgets’ being presented by it.

He said this while speaking at a news conference and a meeting of party workers here at the residence of PPP former provincial president Syed Zahir Ali Shah.

The opposition leader said that the government’s decision to impose Rs40 billion new taxes was beyond imagination.

“We believe that the budget is announced once a year but the Nawaz Sharif government has made it a habit to announce four mini-budgets every year, which are intolerable,” he said.

Khursheed Shah said the people faced multiple problems due to inflation, unemployment and lawlessness and therefore, imposition of new taxes would stress them out more, especially those from the low-income group.

Opposition leader says forceful voice will be raised against government’s wrong policies, including ‘mini-budgets’

He said besides other parties, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi had also held negotiations with him over uniting the opposition and that priorities were discussed to provide relief to the people during those talks.

The opposition leader expressed concern about the increase in power tariff and prices of LPG and natural gas and said an adjournment motion had been submitted to the National Assembly’s Secretariat about it.

He also spoke about terrorist acts in Sindh and said terrorism had yet to be completely eliminated from the country and that was why, such incidents continued to happen.

Khursheed Shah said terrorism could be defeated only when the culpable people would get exemplary punishments.

He said those who claimed that terrorism had been overcome were wrong.

The opposition leader expressed reservations about the alleged change in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor route and said the opposition would raise the people’s grievances about it.

“During my meeting with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, this China-Pakistan Economic Corridor issue came under discussion. We have similar views and reservations about it,” he said, adding that the matter would be raised on the floor of the National Assembly.

The PPP leader expressed annoyance at the sacking of Workers Welfare Board employees and denial of salary to them for months and urged the relevant authorities to address the issue without delay.

“These workers are also Pakistanis, children of the soil, so they should not be disturbed,” he said.

About differences in the provincial chapter of the PPP and the demand for intra-party elections in the party, Khursheed Shah said efforts were underway to re-organise the party at all levels in consultation with workers.

When referred to the PPP defeat in the recent local government elections in different provinces, especially in Punjab, he said a five-member committee had been formed to submit report to the leadership on the matter for action.

“Those who are celebrating insisting PPP is a thing of the past are wrong. The party has roots in the people and that it is still in a strong position but it needs re-organisation. We will start the countrywide re-organisation campaign in Jan 2016 to re-activate workers,” he said.

To a query about the replacement of PPP co-chairperson or abolishment of the co-chairperson’s office, Khursheed Shah said it was the central executive committee’s mandate to decide about it.

He said the PPP had gained more popularly in the recent local government elections in Sindh besides winning many seats in Punjab province.

Earlier, the PPP leader said he had handed over relief goods to the chief minister for the earthquake-affected areas in Chitral, Dir, Buner, Shangla and Swat, which included three power generators each of 250KV and 50,000 quilts and other necessary items.

PPP leaders Khanzada Khan, Zahir Ali Shah, Faisal Karim Kundi, Akhunzada Chattan and Nighat Orakzai were also present on the occasion.

CM SHARES RESERVATIONS: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has said that federal government has diverted all the allied development projects to the eastern route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), depriving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan of the benefits of the mega project.

He said that federal government was neglecting the western route of the corridor contrary to the promise made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He said that federal government was also reluctant to sign a Memorandum of Understanding regarding payment of the arrears of net hydel profit to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to a handout, the chief minister was talking to opposition leader in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, who called on him at Chief Minister’s House here on Thursday while leading a delegation of Pakistan People’s Party.

The opposition leader on this occasion handed over documents of the relief goods to the chief minister. The relief assistance was announced earlier by Sindh government for seven earthquake-affected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Chitral. The consignment includes 50,000 quilts and three heavy duty power generators.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2015