ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan Friday advised the opposition to think 10 times before launching a bid for removal of the Senate Chairman Muhammad Sanjrani, as political instability in the country had already led to economic instability.
Talking to reporters after the assembly session was over, she made it clear to the opposition that attack on Sanjrani would be like attack on the federation. She said the government would face the situation as per the Constitution and it was quite possible that the opposition might face the scenario, which it experienced with regard to the adoption of the budget.
She also maintained that there would be no attempt to go for winning loyalties of the legislators but the opposition would face a tough challenge on this count from the treasury benches. “We will respond to the opposition’s machinations through our performance,” she asserted.
She welcomed the smooth passage of budget from the National Assembly despite the opposition parties’ bid to impede the process. She said the wishes of those, who hurled hollow threats of blocking the budget passage, had died in their hearts.
She said adoption of the budget connected to national security and defence was a welcome development. Referring to the statement of the army chief on the national economy, she said it was the impact of his statement that dollar had dropped by Rs04.
“We will have to put our act together for resolution of economic difficulties. There are other fields for political bouts,” she emphasized and urged the opposition to desist from playing politics on the national economy.
She was of the view that in order to meet the challenges facing the country, national cohesion was imperative and dialogue was the only way forward to find out solutions to the problems. She advised the opposition against wasting their resources and time and urged them to contribute towards improving the life of the common man.
She thanked the government allies’ support for passage of the budget. She said the present budget session was the longest ever, which lasted for over 70 hours. She noted that the prime minister’s players played well in the assembly and failed the ploy of opposition parties.
She reiterated that June 30 was the last date to benefit from the tax amnesty scheme. However, she explained that work was underway to further simplify the scheme procedure. She said the opposition was at liberty to make its moves, as the government had fulfilled its commitment to the people that the opposition’s constitutional role would be duly acknowledged.
Earlier, in a statement, she strongly contradicted the opposition’s attack on the prime minister’s person, which was reflective of their jealousy and hatred towards him. She pointed out that the prime minister was the one, who had introduced austerity and made it a main part of his initiatives and applied it to himself first.
Dr. Awan said the PMO budget for the year 2019-20 was Rs863 million while the allocation for 2018-19 was Rs986 million. She said the Prime Minister, on the whole, made 32 percent savings and deposited the same in the national treasury. Likewise, previous year too, 41 per cent savings were made, she added.
