Non-consultation over budget session: Opp in KP Assembly to oppose next budget

PESHAWAR: The opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday vowed to oppose the next annual budget in the provincial legislature after claiming to have been ignored in the consultation process.

Talking to media persons at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly secretariat, opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani said the opposition would requisite the assembly session prior to the budget session so that the government could explain how and where the development funds had been spent.

“The opposition lawmakers have been neglected in the development funds and not a single penny was spent in their constituencies during the current fiscal year,” he said. He added that they would give a tough time to the treasury benches in the budget session.

He was flanked by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) parliamentary party leader Sher Azam Wazir, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary party leader Sardar Mohammad Yusuf and Awami National Party (ANP)’s Shagufta Malik.

Akram Durrani said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government ignored the demands of the opposition to probe irregularities in the Billion Tree Tsunami project, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Peshawar and Malam Jabba hill resort.

He said the PTI government had started victimizing opposition leaders by arresting top leaders of PPP and PML-N prior to the annual budget for 2019-20 so that the main focus could be deviated from the issues related to the budget.

He said Prime Minster Imran Khan and federal ministers and advisors had already asked the nation to be ready for hard times as new taxes would be imposed in the upcoming budget.

“The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is being used as a tool against opposition parties,” he alleged. He added that the opposition parties would launch a countrywide protest movement after the budget session.

PPP’s Sher Azam Wazir condemned the arrest of PPP co-chairperson and former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and said the government could not pressure the PPP as the party leadership had experienced imprisonment, political victimization and execution in the past.

He said the opposition parties had unanimity on issues and would give tough time to the government in the budget session.

PML-N’s Sardar Mohammad Yusuf said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government neglected the opposition members while awarding the development projects.

“The price-hike and unemployment have reached an alarming level due to the wrong economic policies of the incumbent government,” he said. He maintained that the PTI leaders were taking U-turns as they have failed to honour the pledges made with the people during the general election campaign.

ANP’s Shagufta Malik said that neither the federal government nor the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had given any relief to the poor.

She said the ANP had already launched a protest movement against the government. “After holding successful protest against price-hike last Sunday, our party would stage protest against restrictions on the media and the so-called accountability,” she added.