The Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, has not addressed the budget in the National Assembly.
Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Commerce and leader of the PPP parliamentary group in the National Assembly, conveyed the news on Monday.
The silence on the budget follows Bhutto-Zardari’s absence from high-level, two-part discussions with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) regarding budgetary proposals, including contentious IMF allocations for Sindh.
The preliminary round of talks, chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, focused on resolving conflicts over budgetary allocations for Sindh’s flood victims and other financial matters. Given the differences between the PPP and the incumbent PML-N, this development has been perceived as a setback.
Despite PPP members of the National Assembly voicing criticism of certain budget elements, no plans for budgetary allocation cut motions have been announced. Any such actions would be considered stepping into an opposition role.
Extended Budget Discussions
The general discussion on the budget was due to conclude on June 17 but was extended by two days in anticipation of Bhutto-Zardari’s speech. This also resulted in the finance bill and supplementary budget adoption being pushed back a day, leading to the budget being scheduled to pass on June 24.
Insider information suggests an amendment to the Pakistan Election Act will be presented to the National Assembly this week. The Senate-approved amendment, which reduces the disqualification period for election contestation to five years for any offense, will likely be introduced when President Alvi departs for Hajj in Saudi Arabia. The acting president is expected to consent to convert the amendment into law.
Sindh Flood Victims
Earlier, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar announced a commitment of approximately $11 billion to aid the rehabilitation of flood victims in Sindh and other regions. The minister assured the issue would be amicably resolved and downplayed any disagreements between the PML-N and PPP.
Dar has called for establishing a ‘Charter of Economy’ once the federal budget session concludes. He believes this charter will assist in addressing the recent economic downturn. The minister also stressed the need for collective efforts to steer the economy towards growth, which he is confident will occur with divine grace.
He compared the present financial crisis to the one following the 1999 nuclear tests when the nation faced international sanctions. He asserted that the PML-N government had swiftly addressed the crisis. Dar added that the Charter of Democracy (CoD) was initially signed with a ‘code of conduct’ to prevent political backstabbing. This led to reforms in civil-military relations, constitutional amendments, the 18th Amendment, NFC Award, legal reforms, and the truth reconciliation commission, a process in which he had actively participated.
