Shahid Khaqan challenges budget figures

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has challenged the figures of the next year’s fiscal budget presented in the National Assembly by the government last week and maintained that current economic health and growth projected by the government are utterly misleading.

“The growth in actual term is more than 2.5 minus against wrongly portrayed by the minister concern as 0.08 at the end of the year,” talking to The News here Sunday evening he warned that the economy is heading towards complete disaster that will throw the country into deep plummet and recovery wouldn’t be even remotely possible in that case.

Shahid Abbasi was tested positive coronavirus two weeks ago and in quarantine since then. He didn’t attend the budget session of the National Assembly due to his ailment. He is recovering on good pace and hopefully will be tested for corona in a day or two. He recalled that the figures given in the annual budget should be gauged keeping in view the rupee parity with US dollar. “The figures shown in the previous budgets and especially budgets produced by the PML-N government must be compared by keeping in mind the dollar value now and then.”

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made it clear that change of hands at this time wouldn’t help in checking the decay since life of all departments have turned worsen to irreparable extent. The government is corrupt and incapable from head to toe and the situation is bound to worsen further. To a query he said that no sober person could aspire to take charge of the government in the existing condition of the country. The rulers have made the country ungovernable. “One must give credit to the government for its speed in destroying the country,” Shahid Abbasi while taking the jibe on the government said and questioned that it is hard to judge that the rulers have spoiled the country deliberately or it is their incompetence that has ruined every good thing.

He said, “The lie has become the motto of the government and it is misleading the public opinion on every issue and on daily basis. The former prime minister supported the demand made by the joint opposition for resignation of the president and prime minister in the wake of historic verdict of the apex court in case of Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s petition where the government’s mala fide has been established in submitting judicial reference against a neat and clean judge of great dignity. He was of the view that the people who undertook espionage of a sitting honourable judge of the highest court of the country must be consigned to behind bar for their offence and should be tried accordingly.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who is an amateur pilot and had been running a leading airline, warned that the way administration getting failed in checking the coronavirus victims commuting abroad, could be resulted in ban international airs for airlines of Pakistan. He recalled that in some countries where the governments had effectively controlled the coronavirus but with the arrival of Pakistani visitors, the people started tested positive which is unfortunate. He impressed upon the administration that it must keep a vigil eye on the outgoing passengers and ensure that no person suspect of corona victim should be allowed to move out of the country. The strict systems should be put in place in this regard, he added.

It is likely Shahid Abbasi will lead the opposition in Parliament for contesting the budget later this week provided his doctors allow him to attend the sitting of the Parliament and he is tested negative for corona.