On Tuesday assuring support to the government in fiscal management, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan urged the government to ensure transparency and honesty in budgetary spending during next fiscal.
“Whenever you will talk of national interest and improving the economy, the opposition shall play its role. We shall not play politics on this issue. We shall act above party affiliation to put the economic agenda on right direction,” he said while opening the budget debate in National Assembly.
“But, you will have to offload extra burden and non-developmental expenditure. You will have to prove to be honest and transparent as well as trustee of the masses wealth,” he added.
He described the budget as ‘borrowed and a budget of East India Company’ and said, “No strategy or vision of a democratic government could be seen in it. The government again relied on Baboos to prepare the budget and we can in no way look this budget as non-traditional and a harbinger of a change.”
He said the country is passing through a crucial phase and there is need for cutting down the expenditures of the President House, Prime Minister’s House, ministers, advisors and other government functionaries.
“On one side we are enhancing allocations for them on the other hand are withdrawing subsidies from poor masses,” he said.
Nisar appreciated increase in salaries of government employees but said that provinces could have been taken into confidence before revising the proposed increase from 25 percent to 50 percent.
He claimed that unemployment is in double digit, per capita income has dwindled, allocations for education are less than two percent of GDP, public debt has increased, DFI has decreased by 45 percent and 50 percent Pakistanis are threatened by food insecurity. “Areas like gas, electricity and water are under stress, law and order is deteriorating, prices are sky rocketing and economic indicators portray a bleak picture.”
He said the economy is hit by structural imbalances and plunged in vicious circle of borrowing while around 75 percent Afghan transit trade is misappropriated.
He proposed a Monitoring Committee of the House, or to assign the task to PAC or the Standing Committee of the House on Finance to have a strict check on spending from the budgetary allocations.
He also demanded to cut the foreign visits, slash non-developmental expenditures and check the misappropriation of funds.
Nisar specially mentioned to five utilities and demanded financial emergency and curb corruption in PIA, Pepco, Pakistan Steel and Pakistan Railways that he said, eat up Rs. 245 billion of hard earned money of poor Pakistanis.
He described petroleum levy as a ‘cruel tax’ that would affect exports and resulted in price hike.
Nisar warned the government to forcefully oppose the Accountability Bill if it is brought to the House without evolving a consensus at the Standing Committee.
He proposed to reduce the interest rate on loans and objected allocation for the ministries that are going to be devolved to provinces under the 18th Amendment.
Nisar also proposed agricultural tax and said, when the country is passing through worse economic crisis, the big land owners should also contribute to economic recovery.
“We are here to address masses problems and not to benefit the privileged class more and more,” he said.
Nisar also opposed allocation of medical allowance to former Speakers and Chairmen Senate and their families.
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