ISLAMABAD: Amid growing chorus of criticism by opposition parties over mismanagement of the Covid-19 crisis, Budget 2020-2021, and illegal annexation of Kashmir, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said that a "political" committee was being formed to formulate a joint way forward on critical issues of national interest including the outstanding Kashmir dispute.
Speaking in the National Assembly to respond to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary leader Khawaja Asif's speech on Budget 2020-2021, Qureshi said that all major opposition parties - the PML-N, the PPP, the JUI and the ANP - were invited to be part of the committee for finding a joint way forward to resolve the issues confronting the country.
He said that Pakistan had a unanimous stance on the Kashmir dispute, adding "we have rejected India's August 5, 2020 illegal annexation of Indian occupied Kashmir as these are contrary to UN charter and international laws."
The minister clarified that Pakistan was part of the group, which opposed the permanent membership of India in the UN Security Council.
However, he said that non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was given on rotational basis, and Pakistan also remained the world body's non-permanent member in the past.
He also strongly rejected the statements attributed to him and the prime minister about the recognition of Israel, saying "there is no truth in it as Pakistan has a historic stance on the issue and supports a two-state solution with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as capital of Palestinian state".
Taking part in the debate on Budget 2020-2021, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari blasted the government for its "failure" to contain spread of Covid-19 for petty politics, which he contended had now rung the alarm as "one death was taking place every 15 minutes".
"The government has no clue about what's going on in the country as everything right from economy, health, joblessness, health etc, everything is going from bad to worse with the budget providing no suitable relief," he lamented.
He said that the people of Pakistan would give the ruling party a rude awakening in the next elections.
He said that his party had warned the rulers about the threat posed by coronavirus back in February but no one paid heed to the concerns.
He also criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan's conflicting statements regarding the severity of the virus, and said that the government was completely directionless.
He also blamed the federal government for the transmission of coronavirus from cities to villages, adding "we could have at least saved our villages, if we'd continued the lockdown until Eidul Fitr".
"We should take decisions based on consensus as should not tamper with the fault lines that are the 18th Amendment and the NFC Awards. A woman was martyred in Turbat, the whole of Balochistan protested. A PTM candidate was murdered in Fata. This is a fault line. We should not tamper with them," he maintained.
He said that the government only allotted Rs10 billion for locusts, but Rs80 billion for a dam, adding it gives a seat to the AJK in NFC like a province, which is unconstitutional, and we all have to bear the repercussions of this act, which is why we demand to withdraw this NFC award.
"You cannot shy away from the responsibility from a right to life. We cannot say that the government is not responsible for the lives, health facilities and food security of the people. We have to not only save the lives of the people, but also the economy of the country. We reject this budget," he concluded.
Earlier, Information Minister Shibli Faraz admitted that people did not act upon the SOPs, while shopping ahead of Eid.
"The public did not even care about the SOPs on the occasion of Eid," Faraz said.
"The number of cases increased because of non-implementation of the SOPs."
The house proceedings were suspended for some 15 minutes after Khawaja Asif insisted that there rumours were doing rounds in capital that the government has accepted Israel, with treasury benches rejecting the reports.
Federal Minister for Communications Murad Saeed said the Kashmir dispute stands internationalized as a result of the efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He said the way Imran Khan has pleaded the case of Kashmiris at the international level is unprecedented.
He pointed out that it was after a passage of 50 years that the UNSC held discussions on the Kashmir dispute twice in a year.
He said the prime minister has also forcefully raised the issues of Muslim world at different world forums.
According to Saeed, the tax collection was witnessing a growth of 17 percent before the outbreak of Covid-19.
During that period, he added, our foreign direct investment also increased by 137 percent, whilst exports and remittances also registered an increase.
The minister said that the government has also cut its expenditures.
He said it is the first time in the country's history that no new tax has been imposed in the budget.
He said Rs208 billion have been allocated this year for Ehsaas programme.
He said our priority is development to trigger economic activity, and generate employment opportunities, adding, we have started work on the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
He said that the PTI government executed 1,824 kilometers of road infrastructure projects during the last two years.
He said more projects have been envisaged for the next fiscal year.
The PML-N's Rana Tanvir Hussain said that the government should support farmers to enhance the agriculture yield.
He said proper planning should be done to control the locust attack and to ensure food security.
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