ISLAMABAD, June 17: Political sparring in the parliament is timeless but a PPP MNA chose a real watch to pour scorn on the national budget presented by the newly-elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“What else one can expect from a party whose leaders are fond of wearing such expensive personal items,” MNA Shazia Marri said in the National Assembly on Monday, ridiculing the budget and alluding to a $4.6 million watch worn by an unnamed PML-N leader.

She said the budget was not pro-people and had been prepared for the rich.

Her disclosure of the expensive wristwatch astonished everyone in the house, including the Speaker.

In her budget speech, she also compared PPP’s what she claimed pro-poor budgets over the last five years to that of the PML-N government.

Deploring the federal budget, Ms Marri said it seemed to have been prepared only to cater to the needs of the rich industrialists of the country.

In a state of disbelief, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq interjected, seeking a clarification from Ms Marri if she had mentioned the price of the watch in rupees or American dollars. In response, Ms Marri said she had done research on the price tag of the watch which cost 4.6 million dollars. “Then the owner of the watch must have got it adequately insured,” commented the speaker.

It was not only the speaker, Ms Marri’s colleagues sitting across the aisle and mediapersons in the press gallery also got surprised with the claim.

A colleague sitting in the press gallery immediately calculated the price in Pakistan rupees and put the figure at Rs455 million. If it’s true, it makes a huge story, said a senior journalist.

“This is unbelievable. How come one can wear such a costly watch,” said a PML-N MNA when he asked about the claim made by Ms Marri.—Khawar Ghumman