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• PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan asks whether decision had cabinet nod • Demands parliament be briefed on Trump-COAS meeting
• Sibghatullah criticises Trump’s role in Israel’s war on Palestine • NA approves demands for grants of Rs51.6tr for various ministries
ISLAMABAD: Opposition lawmakers on Tuesday strongly condemned the government’s decision to nominate US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, demanding an explanation for the controversial move.
The government recently posted on X that Mr Trump deserved the award “in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership during the recent India-Pakistan crisis”.
Opposition members questioned the basis of the nomination and sought clarification on what led to such a decision.
Meanwhile, in a significant development towards the passage of the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, the National Assembly approved 108 demands for grants for various ministries and divisions, amounting to over Rs51.6 trillion. The government rejected all 405 cut motions moved by opposition lawmakers, clearing a path for the passage of the budget.
The National Assembly also approved 29 demands, totalling over Rs81.75 billion, for the Cabinet Division for the upcoming fiscal year, dismissing 112 cut motions from the opposition.
During the debate on the cut motions, opposition lawmakers raised the issue of the US president’s Nobel nomination.
PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan asked if the decision had been approved by the cabinet. Referring to the recent meeting between Mr Trump and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House, he said the cabinet and parliament should be briefed on what was discussed during that meeting.
Mr Khan also took the opportunity to clarify the issue of Taliban resettlement in Pakistan, which had been the subject of much controversy. He denied the notion that the repatriation was ordered by Imran Khan during PTI’s tenure, explaining that the matter had been discussed in a 2021 cabinet meeting attended by key federal ministers, and the then army chief and ISI director-general.
He asserted that the proposal was opposed by cabinet members and no decision had been made before the “regime change”, following which Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari became the prime minister and foreign minister, respectively.
Sahibzada Sibghat Ullah also demanded that the people of Pakistan want to know if the decision to nominate Mr Trump for Nobel Peace Prize had been taken by the cabinet or an individual. He questioned the rationale behind the nomination, insisting that Israel devastated Palestine “at the behest of Donald Trump” and also attacked Iran.
Jamshed Dasti also raised the issue, asking if the government had any shame in nominating Mr Trump for the peace prize.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif briefly attended the session but left during Mr Dasti’s speech.
‘Bloated cabinet’
Aliya Kamran of JUI-F pointed out that under Article 92(1) of the Constitution, the number of cabinet members cannot exceed 11 per cent of the total strength of parliament, meaning the limit should be 48 members.
However, she noted that the current cabinet had over 80 members, which she said violated the spirit of the 18th Amendment. She called for a reduction in the cabinet’s size and suggested that the savings should be directed towards public welfare.
Ms Kamran also claimed that the Special Investment Facilitation Council and the Board of Investment were doing overlapping job and funds were being allocated to both. “This anomaly should be removed,” she stressed.
Winding up the discussion on the cut motions for the Ministry of Commerce, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan said the government planned to increase exports to $60bn over the next four years, nearly doubling the current $30.3bn.
He said the government was introducing the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2024-30 to boost exports. “We identified challenges in each sector, proposed legal and institutional reforms and created a clear roadmap,” he said.
Mr Khan also emphasised the importance of agro-food and food technology exports, saying the government was incorporating food tech into export policies to meet global market demands.
Energy sector
Responding to the opposition’s criticism of the energy sector, Minister for Power Awais Leghari defended the government’s energy policies, claiming that the current administration had reduced electricity prices for 20 million of the 30 million metered consumers. He said that tariffs for consumers using up to 200 units had been reduced by 58pc.
Mr Leghari criticised the previous PTI-led government’s energy deals, particularly those with independent power producers (IPPs). “We have reversed plans that would have burdened consumers with Rs4,500 billion over the next six to seven years,” he claimed.
He also pointed out that losses in power distribution companies (Discos) had decreased by Rs180bn within 11 months under the current administration.
About circular debt, Mr Leghari said the government had developed a six-year plan to eliminate the Rs1.26tr debt and that Rs110bn in overbilling had been refunded to consumers. He also vowed to rationalise the net metering system.
Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2025
