LAHORE, June 18: Seventy-two per cent of the Punjab budget allocations will be funded from foreign sources and only 28 per cent from domestic contribution, claims Azma Zahid Bukhari of the opposition.

Speaking at the second day of budget debate in an otherwise quorum-less Punjab Assembly on Monday, Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians’ (PPPP) Ms Bukhari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Rana Sanaullah injected life in the house with their incisive criticism and witty remarks.

The house, which started proceedings at 10.10am, had only 32 members — some 61 members less than what could have constituted quorum. At no stage of the entire debate, the figure crossed 60.

Mr Rana and Ms Bukhari came up with some precise figures to belie official claims. Otherwise, the opposition’s criticism was generally listless and treasury’s defence incoherent. Only four to eight ministers attended the house at different times.

Ms Bukhari claimed that of the Rs416 billion Punjab budget, Rs198 billion were foreign debt and only Rs109 billion provincial contribution. “With these officially documented figures, how does the government term it a record development budget?”.

According to her, up to Rs44 billion had been allocated for the Chief Minister House and two new planes. “One should not forget this money is being spent on one person — the chief minister — in a province, where people commit suicide and sell body organs to make both ends meet.”

She said billions of rupees were being spent on police but law and order had deteriorated, with 22 suicide attacks in the province in the last two years.

During the last year, she added, 6,660 rape cases were registered, 600 honour killings reported and 157 women committed suicide.

“This is happening in a country where women have been empowered,” she said.

Ms Bukhari lamented that in a `literate Punjab’ (a slogan being projected by the Punjab government) teachers were on roads demanding revision of their salaries and service structure. How the Punjab government would make Punjab literate without satisfying teachers, she said.

Health Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal took the floor to praise the budget, claiming the government had made exemplary strides in both the health and the education sectors. He said all Punjab hospitals gave free medicines to patients in emergency wards, which was a success. A new Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) would soon start working in Faisalabad, he said.

His claim provoked Mr Sanaullah into an argument that the government had not allocated even a single rupee for the Faisalabad PIC in the budget. He claimed that in the last year, the Health Department could not spend Rs1 billion allocated to it under the Annual Development Plan.

Mr Ahsanullah Waqas of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) also created some ripples in the house when he took on Punjab PPP President Shah Mahmood Qureshi for calling knighthood for Salman Rushdie Britain’s internal affair.

PPP’s Syed Nazim Shah defended his leader, saying that the press statement might have been wrongly attributed to Mr Qureshi. PPP’s Dr Javed Siddiqi said the MMA had been playing double role. It was part of the government in Balochistan and had also enjoyed perks of the opposition leader in the National Assembly. He dared the MMA to prove statement attributed to Mr Qureshi true and he would resign. Otherwise, the MMA member should apologise on the floor of the house, he said.