NA session: Opposition MPs launch funding appeal for Railways, Pakistan Post

PTI legislator suggests domestic revenue should be enhanced to retire debt.

ISLAMABAD:

Opposition lawmakers in the lower house called upon the government on Saturday to allocate more funds for revival of railways and Pakistan Post besides audit of accounts of constitutional institutions.

Taking part in the debate over charged expenditures, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legislator, Shafqat Mehmood suggested that domestic revenue should be enhanced to retire debt.

He said that the finance minister did not elaborate steps to broaden the tax net in his budget speech, adding that more allocation should be made for a full revival of railways in order to enable it for public-private partnership.

“We have to take innovative steps to put on order the railways system in the larger interest of the nation,” he said. Shafqat said that ordinary people were using railways for traveling rather than car. He also called for revamping post offices as it caters mainly the poor.

PPP lawmaker Mir Ejaz Jikhrani said that approval of charged expenditure was mandatory, however, the Assembly should be considered serious and sovereign. He said the president had returned all his powers to this House and alleged that the House was not being taken seriously by the government.

Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Imran Zafar Laghari applauded the finance minister’s speech and said that improvements should be brought in Pakistan Post System with the introduction of post code mechanism.

He questioned allocation of hefty amount to Election Commission and said that holding local bodies’ elections was prime responsibility of the respective provincial governments.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2013.