Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have submitted requisition in the National Assembly Secretariat to call an immediate meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance discuss budgetary proposals for 2015-16, PSDP 2015-2016 and privatisation of the Heavy Electrical Complex.
The requisition was submitted for holding meeting of National Assembly Standing on Finance under Rule 225(4). According to the rule, "on a requisition made by not less than four members of a Committee, the Chairman of the Committee shall call a meeting of the Committee within 14-day from the date of the requisition. The requisition submitted by the members of PPP, PTI and MQM says, "let us draw your attention to the fact that not a single pre-budget meeting has so far been convened, although the budget session is expected to take place in two weeks.
Here we would also place on record our dissatisfaction with the performance of the Standing Committee for Finance and its failure to play an effective oversight and monitoring role in the fiscal and economic policy, privatisation process and budget-making process. In particular we are astonished at the total lack of involvement of the committee in budget-making and post-budgetary oversight and the repeated absence of the Minister from the meetings.
We therefore propose an urgent meeting to be convened by the government on the following: (i) Budgetary proposals 2015-16, (ii) PSDP 2015-2016 and (iii) Privatisation particularly of the Heavy Electrical Complex The requisition submitted by Dr Nafisa Shah, Naveed Qamar and Mustafa Mehmood of PPP, Abdul Rashid Godil and Muhammad Ali Rashid of MQM and Nasir Khan Khattak of PTI in which members expressed their concern as no pre-budget meetings have been convened so far on the forthcoming budget.