Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah on Wednesday flayed the government for its policies, which according to him were weakening the federation.

He regretted that the government presented wrong figures of improved economy, adding that the government was running through foreign loan.

“The prime minister says he learned a lot from his exile, but he seems to have learned nothing,” a furious Shah maintained.

Played ethnic card, he said the Sindhis had played a significant role in the creation of Pakistan but were not being treated with consideration.

“The federal government is not willing to promote the people of Sindh and Balochistan,” he accused. “How can you run the federation with such policies?” he asked.

Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan continue to face electricity load shedding, he claimed, while billions of rupees were being spent on Lahore.

“Meanwhile, our people are sleeping on the roads,” Shah alleged. “Only an economy which provides meals and livelihoods to the people is acceptable to us.”

“The government claims that the economy has strengthened, but the people have been starving,” he alleged. “Petroleum prices have fallen, but their impact has not been passed to the common people,” he added.

Shah also highlighted the Panama Papers issue. Saying that the people wanted to know the outcome of the case, he termed it a challenge for the judiciary to deliver a solid verdict.

“The entire country is waiting for a decision on the Panama case,” Shah said. He also took the prime minister to task for his absence from the assembly. “Why are you sick of the Parliament?” he asked.

“The Parliament has only been a stepping stone for you,” he further accused, asking why lawmakers should come to the Parliament when the prime minister and his cabinet avoid visiting the house. Shah later walked out in protest against the government’s ‘behaviour’.

Meanwhile, the House passed “The Public Private Partnership Authority Bill, 2017”. The bill moved by Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Rana Afzal provides for a regulatory and enabling environment for private participation in provision of public infrastructure and related services through fair and transparent procurement processes. The bill has already been passed by the Senate.

The House was informed that Pakistan had been striving to become a full dialogue partner of ASEAN to increase its trade with member countries.

Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir told the House during question hour that for this purpose Pakistan has adopted the policy to conclude bilateral agreements with the major players of ASEAN. He said, “Pakistan’s trade with Myanmar is through ASEAN and we will engage with Myanmar after the ongoing efforts with the major players in ASEAN reach fruition.” He said in the year 2015-16 Pakistan’s exports to Myanmar were $10.9 million.

To a question, he said main reason for decrease in exports of the country was global recession and slowdown in China. He said exports were also affected by low price of commodities in the international market.

Dastgir said the PM has offered duty drawback package to exporters for increasing exports. He said under Strategic Trade Policy Framework, incentives have been provided for import of machinery and loans.

To a question, Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch said that in 2016-17 the government allocated over Rs 20 billion in the Federal PSDP for FATA Development. He informed that 8,000 houses were reported to have damaged in North Waziristan Agency. He said survey had been conducted to get an estimate of the damaged houses and until date 2,370 cases have come to fore and have been validated.

Baloch told the House that after improvement in the law and order in FATA the government was focusing on carrying on development there. He said a development package of Rs 110 billion per year for FATA had been proposed in the FATA Reforms. He said maximum number of colleges and universities would also be established in FATA.

Later, PPP lawmaker Ijaz Jakhrani pointed out the quorum and the chair suspended the proceedings of the House until the quorum was complete. The House has been prorogued.