Senators call for fiscal reforms

Lawmakers in the Upper House on Tuesday called for providing more relief to the common man and stressed the need to address rising poverty, national debt, agricultural decline, and institutional inefficiencies while reaffirming their support for national defense and unity in the face of regional challenges.

While participating in the general discussion on Budget 2025-26, Senator Kamran Murtaza said that during every budget exercise, two types of approaches emerge — one focused on ideological vision and the other aimed at immediate public relief.

He stressed that the major challenge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan remains the law and order situation, which demands concrete and sustained measures.

"We stand united with our armed forces and remain loyal to the country," he stated.

Highlighting socio-economic concerns, Senator Murtaza said nearly half of the population is facing extreme poverty and lacks access to essential items such as food and medicine.

He emphasized the need to tackle overpopulation wisely and called for empowering the youth through technical education and skills development.

He criticized the budget, citing a decline in crop yields and the deteriorating state of agriculture. "Farmers are struggling, and taxes are being levied on those already burdened," he remarked. He urged the government to review its policies and provide greater relief to the underprivileged.

Senator Saadia Abbasi also expressed reservations about the federal budget, stating that the country faces a multitude of challenges including trade imbalances, climate change impacts on agriculture, inadequate infrastructure reforms, mismanaged debt, and stagnating industrial growth.

Meanwhile, the debate on Pakistan's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year in the National Assembly intensified on Tuesday as tensions flared between PPP and MQM members.

PPP's Shazia Marri, in her address, called criticised the government's failure to announce minimum wages for workers and called for a reasonable increase in government employees' salaries.

Her speech took an unexpected turn when a heated exchange broke out between PPP and MQM members, escalating tensions in the assembly.

As Shazia stressed the importance of Karachi remaining an integral part of Sindh, MQM's Asiya Ishaq approached PPP members, leading to an intervention by Aseefa Bhutto, Sahar Kamran, and others.

This led to a tense exchange of harsh words between both parties. Javed Hanif remarked, "You people have abandoned Karachi, and now you threaten us."