CHITRAL: The Citizen Network for Budget Accountability (CNBA) has presented the charter of demands for making the annual budget of the country a true instrument to reflect the needs and aspirations of the people in real terms.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the local delegate of CNBA Imtiaz Hussain said that they were making advocacy for introducing drastic reforms in the process of budget formation.

He said that the foremost need in this regard was ensuring transparency and taking on board all the stakeholders in formulating proposals for budget so that the document could reflect the ground realities and needs instead of making it merely a book of figures.

He added that the government was duty-bound to include the inputs of the stakeholders at all the stages from drafting to presentation of budget in parliament.

Mr Hussain said that the budget documents should provide complete details of all the proposed taxation and expenditure measures for the sake of transparency.

PASSED AWAY: Former president of Chitral district bar association Ghulam Hazrat Inqilabi advocate died of brain hemorrhage here on Thursday, as he could not be taken to Peshawar hospital due to closure of Lowari road due to heavy snowfall.

A doctor in the DHQ hospital told this scribe that timely shifting to the tertiary hospital in Peshawar could have saved his life as there were fair chances of his survival. He said that treatment in such cases could be started only after carrying out CT scan test and the facility was not available in the district.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2020