PESHAWAR: Despite serious reservations, the joint opposition provided level playing field to Finance Minister Muzafar Said during his budget speech in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly except token walkout by PML-N.

The so-called combined opposition comprising JUI-F, PML-N, PPP and ANP seemed divided in the house and the treasury benches fully exploited this opportunity.

The finance minister presented the budget for the 2017-18 in a friendly atmosphere. The PML-N members started chanting slogans when finance minister started highlighting future plans of the government about power generation projects in the province.

PML-N lawmakers shouted “go Imran go” and tore budget documents into pieces. They staged walkout from the budget speech and proceeded to the opposition lobby. Later, ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak and other members of the opposition persuaded the PML-N lawmakers to end their protest and come back to the house.

A lawmaker from the opposition side blamed Maulana Lutfur Rehman, the opposition leader, for not chalking out strategy to give ‘tough time’ to the government during the budget session.

“How it is possible for a person, who always remains absent from the assembly’s proceedings, to lead the opposition,” said the lawmaker, terming Maulana Lutfur Rehman a total disappointment.

ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak claimed that some members of the treasury benches were also not happy with the budgetary allocations. However, the disgruntled elements of the treasury remained silent and did not take up the issues of budget proposals for discussion.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, who is known for political maneuvering, had maintained good contacts with the opposition particularly the parliamentary leaders. Due to his close contacts, the opposition always remained divided in the assembly.

The government had allocated Rs3 billion in the outgoing Annual Development Programme for Dera Ismail Khan, the home district of Maulana Lutfur Rehman, the younger brother of Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2017