HYDERABAD, June 12: The leader of the opposition in the senate, Mr Raza Rabbani, has said defence expenditures should not be increased by more than 11 per cent of inflation rate. He maintained that opposition’s proposals regarding cut in the defence budget had not been accepted in the senate but the Democratic Alliance wanted discussion over the defence budget.

Mr Rabbani was talking to journalists at a labour convention organized by the All Pakistan Trade Unions Organization here on Sunday.

“There should be cuts in the defence budget and we have talked about freezing defence expenditures to match 11 per cent inflation rate in last year’s revised estimates,” he said.

He observed that bad economic policies of the government had led to creation of two separate Pakistans, one for the rich and the rulers and the other for the poor, middleclass and labourers. “Poor, middle and salaried classes are already groaning under price hike and joblessness,” he said.

The People’s Party Parliamentarians leader said Rs500 increase in minimum wages of workers was dishonesty on part of the government. He added that the senate had proposed minimum wages of Rs4,000 for workers which again were not sufficient.

He said the common man had no representation in the budget and it had only protected interests of the business community and elites. “The opposition has rejected it and the upper house has given 58 unanimous proposals”, he stated.

Mr Rabbani said one proposal was to announce the NFC award before approval of the budget from the lower house. He said the senate was the voice of the smaller provinces which symbolized the federation.

He criticized the prime minister’s statement to leave the NFC issue for the president to decide and said it was unconstitutional because under Article 162(4) of the Constitution, the president could only ratify the NFC award. “We condemn this procedure of deciding the NFC award”, he said.

Referring to privatization of the PTCL, he said the method being adopted to privatize an important utility was against the national interest. He said security forces had been deployed in the institution’s offices which had been sealed. “The government itself has claimed that it is a profit-earning organization and such organizations will not be privatized but it is being done”, he said.