Opposition rebuffs budget, terms it ‘disappointing’

Shehbaz says it is ‘recipe for disaster’; Bilawal calls it anti-people budget of ‘PTIMF’

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties on Friday rejected the federal budget 2020-21 presented by Industries Minister Hammad Azhar, terming it “people’s enemy”, “disappointing” and lacking motivation for growth.

As per the parties’ statements, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and others came down hard on the Centre for calling it a “relief budget”. “This budget will increase unemployment and inflation, which is a punishment for the entire nation,” they said.



PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said, “The budget is not only anti-poor but will also result in increasing inflation and unemployment.”

The PML-N president, who did not attend the budget session because he was tested positive for Covid-19, said: “The government has tried to hide its incompetence by affixing the blame on the PML-N and coronavirus.”

Shehbaz said that inflation, unemployment and the downfall of business have set historical records, adding that the incumbent government’s “budget is a recipe for disaster”.

The PML-N leader said that his fears came true word-by-word, adding that the nation was being punished for the “government’s incompetence”.

For the first time in 68 years, he said, the country’s GDP has turned negative. “Is this the performance of the current government?”

He said that the budget and its goals were unrealistic and problems and public difficulties were likely to increase, adding that hiding behind coronavirus won't work as economic devastation before the pandemic was enough evidence of government’s failures and misguided policies.



“If this is the budget then the nation should be ready for mini budgets,” he said. “Where are those creative thinking, export increasing, developing agriculture and industry and people-friendly budget measures?”

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also rejected the budget, saying the PTI-led government presented a disappointing budget. “The PTI government has presented a traditional budget. It is an anti-people budget of ‘PTIMF’ and will only hurt the common man.”

Bilawal urged the masses to reject the budget, announcing to hold an all-party conference on the budget.

On no increase in salaries and pensions, Bilawal said that the government should have given relief to the elders by increasing their pensions and provided protection to every Pakistani worker, poor and farmer in the budget.

He said, “We had hoped that a special health package would be provided in the budget for each province to combat coronavirus, but this did not happen.”

During a press conference, PML-N leaders Khawaja Asif, Rana Sanaullah, Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Shazha Fatima Khawaja said that the government has tried to put everything on Covid-19 in an attempt to hide its “incompetence”. They said that they would respond to the budget in parliament.

JUI-F’s Maulana Asad Mahmood slammed the budget, saying “this budget is not the budget of Pakistan but that of the IMF”.