Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday categorically said in the National Assembly that state institutions were not creating any hurdle in the proceedings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted to probe Panamagate case.

Addressing the NA, the minister said the institutions were providing all the required material to the JIT. He said the government respected the process of investigation but doubts and suspicions over it were also part of the record. “We fully respect the law and the constitution.”

The minister said that the prime minister, who would appear before the JIT today (Thursday) had also asked party workers to stay away from the JIT Secretariat.

Dar urged political parties to sit together and formulate a national economic agenda for the country. He said the National Assembly speaker might lead these efforts after the holy month of Ramazan. He said that it would be a great service to the nation if “we agree on the agenda with an open heart”.

The finance minister said he firmly believed that the future of Pakistan was bright. He said that international financial institutions were also admiring the economic performance of the country.

About the supplementary grants, the minister clarified that these were not unconstitutional. “We are also grateful to the Supreme Court for recognising the government’s stance on the supplementary grants.”

He said the government was trying to bring them to the minimum level. “We have succeeded in significantly reduce the supplementary grants to Rs 121 billion during the outgoing financial year.”

The House also approved all 124 supplementary demands for grants and appropriations amounting to over Rs 121 billion for the outgoing financial year. These were related to different ministries and departments. Ishaq Dar moved the supplementary demands for grants.

The House also held discussion on the ‘charged expenditure’ amounting to more than Rs 68 billion for the outgoing financial year.

These were related to the Senate, repayment of domestic debt, servicing of foreign debt, Supreme Court, Islamabad High Court, Federal Ombudsman and the Federal Tax Ombudsman.

In his concluding remarks, the finance minister said that Pakistan had achieved economic stability due to the prudent economic policies of the present government. He said that the process of forward march would continue with much more vigour in the times to come.

“We are thankful to Allah Almighty for granting us an opportunity to present the fifth budget.” He thanked all the parliamentarians for their positive contribution to the budget.

The minister announced honoraria equal to four months’ basic pay for employees of the Senate and the National Assembly as well as for the staff of all the organisations deployed for the budget session. He said that he had received complaints about the non-payment of honoraria by different organisations. He said the National Assembly and the Senate Secretariat had all the record of officials who attended the budget session.

Parliament should issue certified lists of the officials to their respective departments for payment of the honoraria, he said. He noted the overall impact of the honoraria would be equivalent to five basic pays, as it would be given in accordance with the new pay scales.

Ishaq Dar said the National Assembly and Senate would also play their role in ensuring that the officials also got the budget honoraria announced in the past.

The chair said the non-payment of honoraria would be considered a breach of the privilege of parliament.

Taking the floor, opposition leader Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah expressed serious concern over the situation developing in the Gulf region. He said this situation also entailed serious implications for Pakistan. He said the prime minister should have come to the National Assembly on Wednesday to brief the House on Pakistan’s policy on the matter.

Turning to internal situation, he said that poverty ratio had increased in the country under the present regime. The House has now been prorogued.