ISLAMABAD: The legislators in the Senate Friday urged the government to allocate more for education, health and agriculture sectors and draw a strategy to combat poverty in the country and opposed GST on solar panels.
Leader of the Opposition in the House Syed Shibli Faraz, who opened the budget debate, condemned the Israeli attack on Iran and said that the war has international repercussions with petroleum prices have started to rise and the region exposed to instability. The proposed federal budget for the next year, he claimed, had become controversial in the beginning as questions were being raised about the economic figures presented in the budget, insisting the sanctity of numbers in the budget looks compromised.
He alleged that the budget is a manipulation of figures as serious objections have been raised over it for the first time and added that the country had 6.2 percent GDP growth during the last PTI regime with the agriculture sector having a growth rate of 4.2 percent in 2022, which now stood at 0.6 percent under the current government.
Shibli pointed out that agriculture contributed 24 percent to GDP, which was the main driver of Pakistan’s economy but the policies of the government had broken the backbone of farmers after Punjab government abolished the support price of wheat.
He continued the other crops have also faced contraction this year as cotton, maize and wheat prices and supply chain are facing disruption and an element of uncertainty has been created in the agriculture sector.
PTI lawmaker claimed that industrial sector had grown at the rate of 7 percent during the last PTI government, which was now at 4.8 percent, according to figures provided by the Shehbaz Sharif administration.
When large-scale manufacturing is contracting continuously, he wondered how the government is showing the growth at 4.8 percent, adding this gives the impression that the budget figures are manipulated.
Shibli remarked, “This budget does not reflect the reality of Pakistan and this is anti-people and an IMF-dictated budget. The government has set wrong priorities for the annual Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP 2025-26, in which Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been badly ignored”. He alleged that the government has given unbridled powers to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that would create an anti-business environment; the way the FBR is weaponised that is unprecedented.
Responding to the speech of opposition leader, the ruling PMLN parliamentary leader Irfan Siddiqui claimed that it was the PTI regime, which had played havoc with the economy, crushed the law and the constitution as well as the opposition.
Citing the statistics of 2017-18,he insisted that the economy not destroyed and joblessness was not caused in a day, it was the bitter reap of the crop, they had sowed. “We are reaping it today and perhaps will keep doing it for years to come,” he remarked. He also said that PTI government was removed through the first and the last vote of no-confidence from the platform of Parliament, adding it was neither a regime change, nor involvement of the military or US.
Senator Irfan said Nawaz had said bye-bye to the IMF in 2017 on completion of its programme, overcome energy crisis, the menace of terrorism and the stock exchange was taken to 55000 points and inflation was recorded at 3.4 percent but then that government was pushed when some met the people of powerful circles.
He also called for not winding up institutions of literature and knowledge and promotion of Urdu language like Pakistan Academy of Letters, Urdu Science Board, Iqbal Academy, Urdu Dictionary Board. “Please don’t place them under the universities, which already are facing so many issues, including paying their employees,” he contended. PPP’s Senator Shahadat Awan said according to the World Bank report, 44.796 percent Pakistanis, i.e. 107 million people, live below the poverty line, their daily income is less than 1200 rupees and unfortunately, no road map has been given in the current budget to reduce this poverty.
“Likewise, in the face of rising inflation, the minimum salary of Rs37,000 that was kept is absolutely low and that is why Pakistan People’s Party has been demanding that this salary be increased to at least Rs50,000 and the federal government should ensure that it should be implemented in the public and private sectors,” he said.
According to the current cost of living, he pointed out, his party wants that the salaries of federal employees should have been increased substantially.