Opposition flays K-P govt for presenting supplementary budget

Claim govt’s economic policies have failed which is why the budget was presented for ‘surplus’ years

PESHAWAR: Members of the opposition benches in the provincial assembly on Thursday lashed out the treasury benches for presenting what they called a failed and deficit budget.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly resumed on Thursday after it had passed the budget amidst commotion on Wednesday. With Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan in the chair, arguments began on the supplementary budget for 2018-19.

Awami National Party (ANP) lawmaker Shakeel Bashir Umarzai said that if the government has the capacity to table a surplus budget, there should not be any need of presenting a supplementary budget.

He further contended that since he is the sole opposition member from the Charsadda district, he should be provided development funds accordingly.

He further said that suspects in a triple murder case remain at large and that the government must do its utmost to apprehend them. He also called for providing the victim’s family with a special package for the sustenance of their widows and offspring.

Another ANP lawmaker, former deputy speaker of the provincial Opposition flays K-P govt for presenting supplementary budgetassembly Khushdil Khan, described the recently-passed budget as a supplementary one under Article 124 of the Constitution.

ANP woman lawmaker Shagufta Malik criticised the ‘poor allocations’ for youth and women in the financial budget. She further noted that the chief minister had kept the women and social welfare ministries with himself.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Ahmed Nalota stated that owing to the failed economic policies of the current government, development schemes were never completed.

While taking part in the discussion, ANP’s Waqar Ahmed Khan echoed Umarzai’s sentiments over the supplementary budget.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Night Orakzai also expressed her concern over the government’s claims of saving billions under austerity measures even as the country gets crushed under the burden of billions of rupees of loans and dollar in free flight.

She also expressed her concerns over the lower allocation for police who continue to fight militancy.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) member Inaytullah Khan expressed his displeasure over the government’s decision to unilaterally ending all cut motions presented by the opposition over the budget and demanded that the provincial government should clarify whether they have presented a supplementary budget or a full fiscal year budget.

ANP Parliamentary Leader in the Assembly Sardar Hussian Babak stated that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been in government in the province for the past six years and they have tabled a supplementary budget for each of those years.

“I wonder what sort of vision they are producing for the provincial economy,” he asked.

He went on to criticise the provincial government for not keeping the National Finance Commission (NFC) share of K-P in the provincial budget.

Babak also warned against election engineering in the newly-merged tribal districts.

K-P Law Minister Sultan Muhammad Khan, meanwhile, hailed the restoration of the three advisers and two special assistants to the chief minister by the Peshawar High Court. He took a swipe at ANP’s Khushdil who had filed the petition before the court, accusing him of attempting to confuse the court.

Meanwhile, members of the opposition and treasury benches demanded replacing the words ‘plunder’ and ‘pillage’ in the Islamic books prepared by the K-P textbook board with other relevant words.

The move was backed by Local Government Minister Sharam Khan Tarkai.

Responding to Babak’s claims over failing to allocate money for the newly-merged districts, Tarakai said that they have allocated Rs107 billion for the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata). On the NFC segment, he said that the other three other provinces too have not included in the budget their due share in the funds.

“We have allocated due proportion in the development funds for various districts,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2019.