PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Pakistan Peoples Party’s previous performance came back to haunt them as members of the opposition parties shared their views on the Sindh Budget 2013-14 outside the Sindh Assembly on Monday. Calling it a blatant attempt to misguide the people of the province, members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional chose to speak about the stones left unturned by PPP - especially in terms of development.
“The PPP and their former coalition partners, MQM, have looted the people during the last five years,” said PTI’s Syed Hafizuddin. “One should not have any expectations from PPP’s government which even after a year, failed to drain out stagnant flood water from areas in Sindh. We reject the government’s plan to impose new taxes as it will increase poverty.”
In his opinion, the incumbent government was cracking jokes by only allocating funds to deal with the energy crisis. “Even law and order has been allotted Rs48 billion but practically, nothing is being done,” he said. “For the past five years, we have been hearing that the government is working hard on the Thar project to generate electricity but ground realities suggest otherwise as there is no visible progress.”
MQM leader Aamir Moin Pirzada called it “a bureaucratic budget” and said that the government had allocated Rs181 billion for the annual development programme (ADP) in its outgoing year, 2012-13, but has only spent Rs97 billion so far. “Even though the government has no potential to utilise the development budget, it has again allocated Rs185 billion for ADP - this only to give the message that the government has enhanced the development portfolio.”
Pirzada went on to say that people in Karachi were suffering from severe water crises but the government has only earmarked Rs1,000 million for the K-IV project through which 260 MGD additional water will be supplied to the residents of Karachi. “Tax has been imposed on beauty parlours but the government is mum on collecting tax from brokers in stock markets who are converting black money into white and on landlords who earn billion of rupees but pay nothing to the government.”
For PML-F’s Imtiaz Shaikh, there was nothing new in the budget “as the PPP did not want to see any change in the province.”
“Allotting budget to circular railways, Lyari Expressway, Thar coal project and law and order is equivalent to old wine in new bottle,” said Shaikh. “Funds are always allocated but where and how they are utilised remains a question.”
Thin attendance of MQM
Majority of MQM’s MPAs did not attend the session as only three to four members were seen in the assembly. Parliamentary leader Syed Sardar Ahmed, deputy parliamentary leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan and opposition leader Faisal Subzwari were not in attendance as Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah presented the budget.
Speaking to media after the session, party leader Moin Amir Pirzada said that MQM’s members were busy in the meeting with MQM chief Altaf Hussain at Nine Zero. “The party convened a meeting to discuss PPP’s proposal to join the government which is why many members were absent from the session.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2013.
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