Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers belonging to all opposition parties on Wednesday boycotted the National Assembly session and held their own ‘proceedings’ outside the Parliament House.

Members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) attended the ‘session’, chaired by PTI’s Arif Alvi.

In their speeches, the opposition members claimed that the finance minister had tried to deceive the people through his budget proposals, adding that the fiscal deficit was much more than that announced by the government. PTI’s Shireen Mazari said the opposition was not being given their due right to express their opinion live on the television. “That’s why we are holding our own session outside parliament,” she said.

Arif Alvi started debate on the ongoing power crises in the country. JI’s Sahibzada Tariqullah said people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were confronting 14-hour load shedding every day.

Continuing the discussion, PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi remarked that 14 to 18 hours of load shedding was being carried out across country. “The government has failed. It has failed to provide people with electricity, gas and water. Health and education have never been a priority for the government,” he added.

Addressing the session, PTI’s Asad Umer claimed Pakistan’s exports had never been as low throughout the history as are at this point of time.

Opposition leader in National Assembly Khursheed Shah said, “According to the census, population of the country stands at 250 million. What will happen when it grows to 500 million in the next 15 years? he asked. “We are told by the government that planning was under way to solve the water crisis. Only Rs20 billion have been allocated for construction of Bhasha Dam. In this way, the dam will be built in 20 years,” he cautioned. “People in Karachi are out on the streets as they have no electricity. While the rulers have no time to take care of the problems of the poor,” he further lamented.

Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai came outside the parliament and tried to reason with Khursheed Shah during the opposition leader’s address. However, Shah responded, “I will talk to you after getting free from here.” The opposition members started chanting ‘Go Nawaz Go’, forcing Achakzai to go back.

In absence of the opposition, the National Assembly continued debate on annual budget for fiscal year 2017-18. Treasury members appreciated the measures announced by the government to overcome power shortages and initiating projects for the socio-economic development of the country. Several PML-N parliamentarians appreciated the budget presented by their party.