‘PPP in KP to protest against budget’

PESHAWAR: Rejecting the federal and provincial budgets, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) provincial president Humayun Khan has announced to stage protest demonstration on Friday to press the government to change what he said was anti-people budget into people’s friendly.

Speaking at a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, he directed the district and tehsil presidents to organize protest meetings at respective districts and tehsil to express solidarity with the people, who, he said, had been badly affected by the “selected” prime minister and his government.

Flanked by other office-bearers of the party including, Syed Ayub Shah, Yawar Naseer, Zulfiqar Afghani, Azam Afridi, Zulqarnain, Malik Saeed Khan and members of the People’s Students Federation (PSF) and People Youth Organization, (PYO), Humayun Khan said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had presented the IMF-prepared budget and made life miserable for the poor.

He observed that the PTI rulers did not realise the problems of the common man and had deceived the nation through hollow slogans but now the people had felt the double standards of the rulers who, he believed, were immature.

Comparing performance of the past PPP government with the sitting PTI government, he said the PPP government had increased the salaries and provided relief to government servants and people.

He said that a nominal increase in the government employees’ salaries was announced but the same was negated by taxing them which was an injustice. The PPP leader said the prices of the essential commodities, petrol, gas and other items had been increased, making life difficult for the people.

He said the budgets presented by the PTI government were not acceptable to PPP and it would oppose and resist the irresponsible rulers. He said the PPP legislators in National Assembly and Senate and members in provincial assembly would play a role to reject the budgets.

Condemning the arrest of the opposition leaders including the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, he said the PTI government had registered case against his party’s candidate in erstwhile Fata but such tactics could neither harass his party and workers nor they would change policies.

He asked the Election Commission of Pakistan as to why it has adopted silence over the ongoing illegal actions of the government. He posed a question as to how the candidates would approach voters under Section 144. Humayun Khan said the PPP had moved applications to the administrations of Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber and other tribal districts but did not receive any response.