Prime Minister Imran Khan and his economic wizards, especially Finance Minister Asad Umar, came under severe criticism in the Senate on Wednesday for approaching International Monetary Fund (IMF) despite repeated claims of preferring suicide over going to the Fund for a bailout package.
Speaking on a point of public importance, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani said that the Prime Minister had repeatedly boasted that he would commit a suicide instead of going to the IMF for a bailout package before coming into power.
He continued that Finance Minister Asad Umar stated on the floor of Parliament that no decision has been taken to go to IMF, and if needed, the Parliament would be taken into confidence. Now the minister has taken a decision to knock at the door of IMF for loans which, Rabbani insisted, is breach of the Parliament.
"Terming the talks with a visiting IMF delegation as preliminary, the minister had stated on floor of the house that Parliament will be taken into confidence but then the Prime Minister hinted at going to IMF followed by an announcement by the minister which is a breach of this House," he contended.
The PPP senator said that financial crisis crushed record oil and gas prices and the way stock exchange crumbled is a big question mark on the flawed economic policies of the incumbent government.
Rabbani claimed that the government has increased prices of gas and electricity, besides agreeing to privatize the national assets in order to please western imperialist powers which are bent upon imposing their philosophy to politically destabilize the country.
He made it crystal clear that his party along with all other opposition parties would not allow the government to sell out state entities at throwaway prices. He demanded the chairman Senate to convene the Senate session to discuss government's decision to approach IMF by ignoring the Parliament, or it will be left with no option but to requisition the session.
Responding to Rabbani's reservations, State Minister for Finance Hammad Azhar said if the government had to go to IMF despite all this, it was mainly due to flawed economic policies of the past two governments of PPP and PML-N.
"This is nothing new as PPP and PML-N went to IMF for 18 times. If we're going for borrowing it is because your exports have gone down the drain. The imports have increased, and this is unfortunate when PPP went for borrowing no one from PPP made such a speech," he lamented.
He also criticized Rabbani for saying combined opposition would not allow the government to privatize state institutions, saying it could be the view of PPP but not of PML-N as the latter supports the privatization.
"Let me assure you [Rabbani] if there is any political party which is against privatization, it is again the PTI, and it will not sell out state enterprises at throwaway prices like past regimes," he added.
Senator Mushahidullah Khan of PML-N said that the PTI, which came into power with a slogan of change, should not follow in the footsteps of PPP and PML-N, adding the PTI has been against their policies, and now after coming into power, it should not repeat what the two parties did in running the country.
He also condemned arrest of Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif by the top anti-graft body, saying the way he was treated by the accountability bureau agents was condemnable as he is not a terrorist. He demanded his immediate release.
He also questioned the role of NAB, accusing it of being biased and targeting the political opponent of ruling PTI, which is evident from the arrest of Shehbaz Sahrif. He said that the Prime Minister must make the corrupt people around him accountable.
Another PML-N Senator Asif Kiramni said that the economic policies of the government show that within six months, no one will be able to survive in the country as inflation is crushing the poor.
He said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is making decisions on the dictates of the Prime Minister, which will be resisted. He said that all people including the Prime Minister against whom NAB references are pending are not being touched, which shows it is accountability of political rivals only.
Kirmani said that he wanted to know the contribution of people like Anil Musarrat and Zulfi Bokhari, who are non-resident Pakistanis, but have been entrusted with huge responsibilities, which is against is shameful example of promoting the "cronies and stooges."
After the opposition lawmakers kept interrupting during speeches of treasury MPs, Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Faraz said that he would not allow it as both treasury and opposition members should be given equal opportunity to give their point of view.
He said that past governments of PPP and PML-N did not invest the borrowed money for public welfare and instead misused it for building empire for themselves and their cronies, but this government would spend the borrowed money for the welfare of the country.
He said that the government is getting loans to bring the country out of the economic quagmire, and with completion of its five years terms, the country will be self-sufficient and would break the begging bowl once for all.
About the arrest of Shehbaz Sharif, he said the cases against Sharif were framed during his own party's government, and they are being pursued by the top anti-graft body, which is a completely an independent institution.
He also said that PML-N must not forget that it is the brainchild of a military dictator and had a track record of victimizations of political opponents through one of his cronies named Saifur Rehman.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmad of Jamaat-e-Islami, a party which enjoyed power for complete five years with the previous provincial government of PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also expressed skepticism whether the government would succeed in turning the country into 'State of Medina'.
He said that the government is yet to set its directions and the way it is running things, and talking about seminary reforms, it has no idea how a country should be run and how policies should be farmed to ensure justice in a society.
The opposition staged a walkout from the House in protest against the remarks by PTI Senator Faisal Javed after he said that 'majority of opposition lawmakers sitting in Senate does not even deserve to be doing a menial job.' This irritated Senator Sadia Abbasi of PML-N, who said: "How dare he use such a dirty language against opposition MPs."
"I congratulate the chairman for conducting the first session of the new government smoothly otherwise some people sitting in the House have only status of sitting on the (sewerage) nullahs," reiterated Senator Javed which angered opposition MPs, forcing them to stage a walkout in protest.
In the meantime, an opposition lawmaker pointed out quorum. Though the government managed to bring the opposition members back to the house, still the quorum was not complete as 12 members were present in the House due to which the chair read out the prorogation order.
Later, Faisal Javed Khan condemned the remarks made earlier in the house by Senator Raza Rabbani about government and its ministers. He said that Rabbani is in the habit of talking tall but practically he did nothing.
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