Budget debate: Increase share of provinces hit by terrorism, says PPP MNA

Dr Nafisa Shah criticises govt for not having clear security policy.

ISLAMABAD:

A Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentarian has urged the government to increase the shares of provinces involved in the fight against terrorism by one per cent.

“The war [against terror] has moved from Fata to other parts of the country. Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar could end up being the next Waziristan,” PPP MNA Dr Nafisa Shah said during the budget debate in the National Assembly on Friday.

“But the government has not allocated anything for internal security [in these provinces],” she said, adding, “Perhaps this is the reason the interior minister was unhappy with his own government.”

The PPP MNA demanded more funds be allocated to provinces bearing the brunt of the war against terror. She criticised the government for not having a national security policy and being confused over whether or not to carry out an operation against terrorists despite the fact that peace talks have virtually come to an end.

“It is difficult for the government to collect tax but easy for terrorists to collect extortion,” she pointed out as well.

While talking about the budget, Shah said that it was nothing but the dictates of International Monetary Fund (IMF) which has asked the government to reduce budget deficit, increase taxes and forex reserves, and spend money on the poor through the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP).



She criticised the government for collecting Rs140 billion for Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) rather than giving it to the provinces: “Depriving provinces of their rights is a violation of the Constitution… We don’t even know if this money will go to the Pak-Iran gas pipeline,” she said.

Naveed Gabol of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was another opposition MNA who censured the government. Referring to the budget documents as ‘big books’, he said: “I have never read such big books despite the fact I have witnessed the presentation of as many as 25 budgets.”

Back and forth between opposition and treasury members continued as usual, with the former criticising the government and the latter eulogising the government’s achievements and praising the premier.

Interestingly, Engineer Hamidul Haq Khalil of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf censured the government and then asked for increase in salaries of MNAs.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2014.