New year to be bad for public if mini-budget approved: Shehbaz

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that New Year will be the worst for the public in terms of inflation if the mini-budget is approved.

He said the government wants to use Parliament as a rubber stamp to meet conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He added that the majority of the public has lost hope in the incumbent government.

Shehbaz said that the government has hiked the price of petrol by Rs39 in a year while prices of medicines have seen a continuous increase in the last three years. —INP

Our correspondent adds: Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, meanwhile, slammed the government for the prevailing fertilizer crisis in the country.

In a statement here on Tuesday, he said the country was facing a serious food shortage due to the fertilizer crisis but the government was not visible anywhere in resolving the issue.

“Farmers of Punjab, Sindh and other provinces are not getting fertilizer even in black as a sack of Urea is not available at Rs 2500 and DAP at Rs10,000,” he claimed and added that 90 per cent sowing of wheat has already been done and under the prevailing crisis fertilizer mafia was given a free hand.

Expressing concern over the situation, Hamza said that due to scarcity of fertilizer the per acre yield could be reduced by up to 10 mounds. Referring to the plight of the people, Hamza Shahbaz said that the prices of flour have already reached Rs 80/85 per kg due to historic inflation.

“Does the government want the price of flour to exceed Rs 100?” he commented and said Punjab alone needs more than 33 million bags of urea fertilizer and if we look at the total consumption of fertilizer in the country, this shortage amounts to more than 10 billion rupees.

Hamza said the mafia that robbed the farmers was sitting to the right and left of the rulers. Hamza also expressed his intention to highlight this issue in the Assembly and in meetings with all the delegations of farmers.