Leader of Opposition Shahbaz Sharif criticized the PTI's ten month performance in government saying the price hike has added to the woes of common man
Islamabad (Pakistan Point News / Online - 19th June, 2019) Leader of Opposition Shahbaz Sharif criticized the PTI's ten month performance in government saying the price hike has added to the woes of common man.The National Assembly resumed its debate on budget for the next fiscal year in Islamabad on Wednesday. Leader of Opposition Shahbaz Sharif called for collective efforts to steer the country out of economic challenges.He said the PTI had made big claims of turning around the economy and bringing revolution in the lives of people but it failed to deliver.
Shahbaz Sharif said focus of budget should have been employment generation, reduction in inflation, GDP growth, bolstering exports and ensuring socio-economic justice. He said all these elements are missing in the budget.He said the government has imposed seventy percent indirect taxes in the next budget which will burden the common man. The opposition leader said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf had promised to construct five million houses but has not allocated any amount in the budget for this purpose.
He also expressed concerns over raise in the gas and power tariff.As the session of the NA resumed for a general discussion, Shehbaz warned the government that if modification in the proposed budget was not made, then the opposition parties would not allow the government to function. Importantly, he demanded the government to reverse the prices of gas and electricity as of May 31, 2018."We want a charter of economy with the PTI and our proposal was contemptuously rejecte time is not over yet as there can still be discussion on a charter of economy" he said.
"In this house, the charter of democracy was inked, and it is our desire that a charter of economy is also signed in the hous, it is a first opportunity as the poor people have been protesting," he said, while recalling PTI leaders claims on containers during the 2014 sit-in and comparing those with what he called the downfall of industries, and the economy and the increasing unemployment in the country today.While expressing regret over "wasting days", the opposition leader said: "The uproar in the last four days was against the traditions of this house, it does not add to its glory.
This lays a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of the speaker. Even yesterday, request for the issuance of the production orders was made for members of the parliament who are absent for the proceedings of the house.""The country won't forget that when the Chinese president was scheduled to visit Pakistan, the PTI was requested to bring its sit-in at D-Chowk to an end within three days but the PTI had not accepted and, as a result, the Chinese president's visit was postponed.
"The cancellation of tour of the Chinese president [at that time] was hostility of the PTI towards the country," he said.The opposition leader said that in the five years of PML-N's tenure of the government, electricity production projects of 11,000 megawatts were launched, and it was not an easy task, whereas in KP, -6 megawatts of electricity was generated."Several years were spent on Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Plant and Kachi Canal project, whereas Imran Niazi constituted a commission for investigation into loans taken by the government. The commission should also inquire the Neelum-Jhelum project from Musharraf's era. During our tenure, billions of rupees were saved in the projects, and the inflation in our tenure was at 12 percent," he said.
