Economic turnaround claim questioned: opposition calls budget lobbies-specific

Calling the budget 'lobbies-specific', the opposition on Thursday questioned the government's claim of achieving economic turnaround and breaking the 'begging bowl', as the National Assembly started debate on the budget.
The opposition warned that the pro-elite policies could trigger a war between the rich and the poor, and that this would send the rulers packing.
Opposition leaders contended that the budget was nothing but jugglery of figures to paint a rosy picture of the worsening economic situation, compounding the common man's financial woes.
On the contrary, few treasury members, including Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi said that the budget was aimed at alleviating financial difficulties of the lower and lower-middle classes and the low-grade government employees. Earlier, the minister moved a motion to suspend the rules for initiating the budget debate.
Almost all opposition speakers called upon the military to go back to barracks, paving the way for free, fair and transparent elections. They were critical of the some Generals' increased involvement in business-related matters.
The speakers came hard on State Minister for Finance Omar Ayub, son of former NA Speaker and ex-minister during the PML (Nawaz) governments, Gohar Ayub, for maligning opposition leaders and delivering a politically vindictive speech than a budget speech. Interestingly, no treasury speaker tried to defend Omar.
Former petroleum and natural resources minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in his pungent remarks, dubbed Omar Ayub's budget speech as the one delivered at the Motchi Gate, Lahore. Omar Ayub at that time was sitting beside his mother, who is also MNA.
Nisar's speech generated some heat and interest in the members who by and large remained indifferent to the proceedings, sharing light moments and smiles.
"It would have been better for Omar to consult his father, who served as NA Speaker and twice as minister during PML governments, before delivering such an offensive speech," he said.
Referring to his oft-repeated challenges of breaking the begging bowl, transparency and good governance, the PML-N leader said only few days back, the Public Accounts Committee took up a case of default worth Rs 320 million and asked who was involved in the matter.
He said that over 5 billion dollars foreign loans were acquired since 1999 and last week's commitment of the World Bank of $6.5 billion loans belied the rulers' claim on smashing the begging bowl. About the minister saying that the government had not compromised on the national interests, Nisar said that under US pressure, Pakistan forces were engaged in action in the tribal belt and so far, 500 soldiers and more than 6,500 civilians had been killed, seven top nuclear scientists, including Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, were under confinement and the government had taken a U-turn on Kashmir policy.
"Today, Pakistan's western border is unsafe. I don't know why our forces are fighting against our own people in South and North Waziristan. These areas have always been peaceful," he contended.
He ridiculed the government's claim that economy was at a take-off stage, saying people were drinking polluted water and growing incidents of suicide in different parts of the country paint an entirely different picture.
As the House resumed business, on a point of order, Pakistan Peoples' Party Parliamentarians' Secretary General Raja Pervaiz Ashraf raised the issue of registering FIR against nine MNAs in Murree for delivering speeches on the charter of Democracy and assailing the government for poor law and order and price spiral.
He said that the action had breached the privilege of the members as well as the House and called upon the Speaker Amir Hussain to look into the matter. State Minister for Interior Zafar Iqbal Warraich assured that a report on the issue would be presented on the floor of the House on Friday. The chair also called for a report on the alleged raid on a factory and theft of medicines, owned by the spouse of MNA Yasmeen Rehman in Lahore, by some unknown persons.
In his opening speech, Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman charged that the budget was in continuation of President General Pervez Musharraf's agenda that was more like an election manifesto than a budget speech.
He feared that the government, despite of saying to have break the begging bowl, would continue taking foreign loans and keep on increasing volume of domestic loans to meet its lavish requirements, denying any relief to the common man.
Fazlur Rehman was of the view that the armed forces were for fighting the enemy and not becoming party to political matters or framing foreign policy.
He proposed that a survey should ascertain how much the military's fighting capability had improved since 1965 war.
About price-hike, he said that the government took pride in bringing down prices of daily-use items, but the on ground situation remained the same and the majority of people found it difficult to afford basic needs of life.
He rejected the appointment of Price Magistrates, saying the problem could only be rectified through prudent policies, as the government's economic policies made the life of poor miserable, adding to the kitty of the rich.
The Opposition Leader called the 13 billion dollars an illusion and deceit under the garb of foreign exchange reserves, which surfaced when immediately after the 9/11, Pakistanis poured in remittances out of insecurity.
"Is it good governance that three retired generals cause millions of dollars loss to the national exchequer and this is dubbed as a mistake in good faith," he argued, referring to the Chinese locomotives deal in 2001.
Dr Niazi delivered a political speech and claimed that the government had given special relief to the poor segments of the society in the budget and flayed the opposition for not appreciating the same.
He said that Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal was divided on the question of staging a sit-in in Islamabad in September and praised Maulana Fazlur Rehman for distancing himself from it.
The parliamentary affairs minister paid tributes to MMA for supporting the 17th amendment and validating all the measures taken since October 1999.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim argued that the budget speech was replete with threats to the opposition, saying the government benches were in panic after the signing of the Charter of Democracy. "This reflects dictatorial approach," he remarked.
He believed that the increase in salaries and pensions was not in proportion to massive increase in POL prices and rates of essential commodities, resulting in increase in suicide incidents.
The PPPP leader urged the military to confine itself to its constitutional role, adding deprivation of civilian rights could lead to reaction against it.
As the members spoke on various aspects of the budget and the government's interior and foreign policies, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was busy in discussion with various ministers and lawmakers in the House.