NA opposition wants policy statement on Saudi-Qatar row

Leaders say ties with Saudi Arabia important but Iran could not be
ignored being neighbour; boycott of budget debate continues; govt sticks to
its decision of not allowing live telecast of budget speeches

ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the National Assembly on Tuesday asked the government to give a policy statement on the Saudi-Qatar diplomatic row.

Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah feared that if the situation in the Middle East worsened, it would expose Pakistan to numerous repercussions. He suggested that the government should immediately call an emergency session of the OIC on the issue. 

PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the government must clarify its position on the issue. He also asked the Foreign Office to explain its position in this regard. He said Pakistan had deep diplomatic ties with Qatar and was importing LNG from it to meet its increasing energy needs. 

He said Pakistan had strategic relations with Saudi Arabia but relations with Iran could not be ignored either, as it was Pakistan’s neighbour sharing a vast border with it. Meanwhile, the opposition continued its boycott of debate on the federal budget saying the debate had become meaningless following the government’s attitude.

The government also stuck to its decision of not allowing live telecast of speeches of the opposition leader and other members. Defence Production Rana Tanvir Hussain urged the opposition to participate in the budget discussion, assuring their genuine proposals will be fully accommodated in the finance bill.

The minister said the treasury benches were ready to sit with the opposition to address their concerns but the other side will also have to demonstrate flexibility. He said the opposition had the right to criticise the budgetary proposals as the people had elected them to pinpoint shortcomings of the government.

Referring to the economic performance, Rana Tanvir said the world's leading institutions were appreciating the government's performance and they were predicting that Pakistan will join the top-20 economies of the world in the next 10 years. 

He said $22 billion foreign exchange reserves, GDP growth of 5.28 percent and electricity generation reaching record levels of 19,000 megawatts speak volumes for the government performance.

Rana Tanvir said the opposition should not follow the agenda of enemies conspiring to disrupt the forward march of the country. He said the opposition should sit with the government and formulate a charter of economy for a brighter and prosperous future of the country.

Amra Khan said special training centers should be set up for the disabled people in order to help them stand on their own feet.  She also proposed an early completion of poverty survey so that more deserving people could be enrolled in the BISP.

Maulana Gohar Shah of JUI-F said Pakistan Baitul Mal was doing an excellent work for the disadvantaged segments of the society.  He said an amount of six billion rupees had been allocated this year for the department which was insufficient. He proposed that 20 billion rupees should be allocated for Baitul Mal.

Describing ten percent increase in salaries as meager, he said the salaries should be enhanced by 15 percent. Abdul Ghaffar Dogar said subsidy on fertilizers should be further enhanced to provide relief to the farmers. 

He said the PARC and NARC should be fully activated to promote agri-research. He said Pakistan has the potential to become self-sufficient in edible oil provided subsidy is given to the farmers on sunflower and canola.

Siraj Muhammad Khan said merit should be ensured in the recruitment process. He said arrangements should be made to provide better health care facilities to the poor lot.

Describing the budget as pro-people Chaudhary Khadim Hussain said people at large had appreciated the budgetary proposals for the next fiscal year. 

He said instead of criticizing the government, the opposition should do some soul-searching for what they did to harm the institutions of PIA and Pakistan Railways.  

Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon said enhancing agri credit, ensuring zero loadshedding for industries and reducing the fiscal deficit were appreciable steps of the government. Malik Muhammad Uzair Khan said the budget is development-oriented as 40% increase has been made in the PSDP for the next fiscal year. He also appreciated the steps taken by the government to eliminate the power outages saying it will help put the country on the path sustainable development.