ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif while taking part in the budget debate in the National Assembly on Friday said that all state institutions should work within their own domains and urged the government and all political parties not to allow turncoats to hold key positions.

A number of MNAs from treasury and opposition benches spoke on the budget, calling on the government to reduce taxes on items of daily use, improve agriculture growth and not to withdraw zero-rating tax regime on exports.

The session of the lower house of parliament started at 10:30am and continued till late night.

“The country will be in danger if the lines drawn by the Constitution are crossed by the institutions,” Khawaja Asif said in his fiery speech.

Vehemently criticising Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, he said the government had formed the inquiry commission on public debt to ascertain why the debt had risen from Rs6,000 billion to Rs30,000bn between 2008 and 2018 without realising that the adviser was responsible for the debt hike because he was part and parcel of almost all successive governments since General Pervez Musharraf’s regime in 1999.

Khursheed Shah deplores proposed reduction in allocations for education, health sectors

He urged all political parties, including his own PML-N and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), not to allow people to sneak into them from the backdoor. “In fact these people [turncoats] have created disharmony in the parliament by their hate speeches aimed at pleasing rulers,” Mr Asif said, adding that some of the MNAs in the present National Assembly had served all previous governments. “They used to sit besides Musharraf, Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto of PPP and the PML-N’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and now they are with Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said.

“If you want to include them [outsiders] in your parties, do not give them front seats as sitting on the front rows is a right of diehard genuine leaders of the parties,” he urged.

Talking on the budget, Mr Asif said the government should avoid taking such decisions which could put the federation under risk. He urged both treasury and opposition benches to avoid confrontation. “Confrontation between us mars the atmosphere through the country,” he added.

He claimed that the narrative of Nawaz Sharif was getting popularity with each passing day and people wanted to see him as prime minister of the country for the fourth time.

Mr Asif feared that the impact of the ‘faulty’ economy policies of the government would also reflect on the security of the country as they [security and economy] ran together.

PPP stalwart Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah in his speech expressed dissatisfaction over utilisation of the Mohmand Dam fund, saying the government had collected Rs10bn for the dam but spent Rs11bn on advertisements. He said Rs15bn should have been allocated for the dam under the Public Sector Development Programme.

He feared that even if the government allocated funds for building dams in the budget, it would at least take a decade for the projects to be completed.

He also demanded increase in the funds allocated for the education sector. “Due to the lack of education, people in Pakistan cannot take care of their health. The government is reducing the amount allocated for education in this budget from Rs97bn to Rs77bn.” Similarly, he said, the allocation for the health sector stood at Rs98bn last year, but was being reduced to Rs60bn this year.

Criticising the government over what he called the “failed projects of five million houses and 10 million jobs”, Mr Shah said politicians should not rely on falsehood to seek votes.

PTI MNA Fakhar Imam said it was time to consider why Pakistan was approaching international lenders every now and then, adding that it was because of low national income and higher expenditures.

He said it was for the first time that the agriculture sector was being given proper attention and called for slashing tax on tobacco products and doing away with the role of middlemen in the sale of agricultural products.

PTI member Zartaj Gul criticised the PML-N and the PPP and held them responsible for the current state of the national economy. She said that the slogan of Roti, Kapra aur Makan (bread, clothing and house) was raised in the past but nothing was done practically to provide relief of the common man.

She claimed that for the first time, a holistic and people-friendly budget had been presented and masses would harvest the fruit the government’s prudent economic policies.

PML-N leader Khurram Dastagir hit out at the government for what he said fudging on figures by presenting a budget full of distortions.

Several other MNAs also spoke on the budget.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2019