ISLAMABAD: A dissident of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Noor Alam Khan on Friday demanded the government to present the “unfair deal” signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – either by the previous PTI or the incumbent coalition governments – before the parliament.
Speaking on a point of order in the National Assembly, he said that the agreement signed with the IMF, which triggered hyperinflation in the country, must be tabled in the parliament so that the people would know who is the culprit.
He was of the view that the present wave of inflation had affected the life of the masses due to the unrealistic deal signed by either the PTI or the incumbent regime.
The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) – the lone opposition party in the National Assembly – lambasted the government for the unprecedented fuel price surge, and said the regime which came into power with a pledge to give relief to the masses, is bent upon snatching the bread and butter from the people.
Saira Bano of the GDA said that the never-ending fuel price hike by the experienced lot of the rulers had badly affected the life of the common man, particularly, the underprivileged segments of society.
Referring to protests by auto-rickshaw drivers in Nawabshah, she said that they burnt down their auto-rickshaws in protest against the continued POL price hike, adding these rickshaws were their sole source of income.
However, while participating in the budget debate, the MPs from the treasury had nothing except heaping praise on the government, and expressed confidence that the coalition government would soon be able to improve the fragile economy soon.
Shahnaz Saleem Malik of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) termed the next fiscal plan balanced and people-friendly, saying the coalition government would steer the country out of the economic crisis.
She said that the previous government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was responsible for the sky-rocketing inflation due to its wrong economic policies and agreements signed with the IMF.
She said that the coalition government had taken sufficient measures by providing relief and incentives to the farming community to promote the agriculture sector, which was considered the backbone of the national economy.
She appreciated the government for increasing the pay and pension of the government and retired employees as it would help lessen their financial problems to a great extent.
Chaudhry Ashraf of the PML-N said that although the country was passing through a critical time, but pinned high hopes on the government that it would effectively tackle all the confronted challenges with collective wisdom.
He asked for paying special attention to the development of the agriculture sector on a strong footing and introducing innovative ways of cultivation, besides reducing the input cost and ensuring the appropriate rate of agri-produces to growers.
He called for providing special incentives to growers for the installation of renewable energy generation plants for tube-wells and hybrid tractors to bring down the cost of inputs making agricultural produces more competitive.
He highlighted the importance of establishing industrial units for manufacturing hybrid batteries used in tractors and the installation of solar panels that would help reduce the cost of inputs and save energy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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