Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai on Thursday urged the government to call a joint sitting of the Parliament for formulating foreign and internal policies of the country. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he said that a joint resolution should also be moved in the house to vow that the Parliament would be the source of all foreign and internal policies.
He said that all secrets and confidential matters were shared with bureaucrats and civil servants, but denied to be shared with elected representatives of the public for being "confidential." Achakzai said the government should call a joint sitting of the parliament to discuss all important issues pertaining to foreign and internal policies; so that Pakistan should be made invincible against all nefarious forces. Referring to a recent meeting of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and others with army top brass in the General Headquarters, he said that it was against the constitution and should have been avoided.
Some forces in the country have been talking about presidential system in the country but the constitution doesn't allow any system other than the parliamentary democracy, he said. Talking about recent clashes at Torkham border, he said the issue should be settled through dialogue and wisdom. Taking part in the budget debate, PML-F member Pir Bux Junejo said the government should initiate more steps for promotion of agriculture and industry in the country.
He said the government had been claiming of bringing economic stability to the country, but little was being done for improvement of education and health. He also demanded of the government to give development funds to all members of the National Assembly. Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Maryam Aurangzeb counted achievements of the government in different sectors including agriculture, security and industry during her budget speech. Minister of State and Chairperson BISP Marvi Memon lauded the government for presetting a pro-poor budget and offering incentives for agriculture and industrial sectors.
She said the government had shown good performance in all sectors including energy, agriculture and electricity generation. Memon said that a computer-based resurvey for the BISP had been started from Harripur and no forms for the membership would be distributed unlike the PPP government did in its tenure. She said that biometric and CNIC verification for the BISP beneficiaries had also been started to make the payments smooth.