Daily Times

The National Assembly (NA) Wednesday successfully started general discussion on the Federal Budget 2022-23 presented by the coalition government last week. Participating in the debate, Sabir Hussain Qaimkhani said it was direly needed to explore the country’s resources in order to provide basic amenities of life to the people, adding that we need to set the direction right by focusing on agriculture and industries to take the country forward on the path of development. Chaudhry Muhammad Barjees Tahir said despite taking massive loans, the previous government of PTI did not carry out any development work in its three and a half year tenure.

He was appreciative of the present government for taking steps for the welfare of farmers. He said ample funds have been allocated in the budget for early completion of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams.

Syed Mustafa Mehmood stressed development at the grassroots level by transfer of funds to the village and tehsil levels. He said the power sector should be privatized in order to bring more efficiency and competitiveness in it which will also bring down the prices of electricity.

Noor-ul-Hassan Tanvir said overseas Pakistanis are contributing immensely to the country’s economy and they should be given due representation in the House. He said incentives should also be extended to overseas Pakistanis in order to encourage them to send more remittances. Saad Waseem Sheikh said there is a need to fix the economy and put it on sustainable growth. He said political instability is hurting the economy. He said all the political parties should sit together and formulate a long term economic policy for the country. Saira Bano said the government should take more steps to provide relief to the masses. She said the subsidy announced for the film industry should have been given to the Haj pilgrims.

Taking floor, Mahesh Kumar condemned the derogatory remarks by some of India’s ruling party BJP’s leaders against the Prophet of Islam [Peace Be Upon Him]. He also urged the international community to take notice of the atrocities being committed by the Indian regime against Muslims.

Commenting on the next fiscal year’s budget, Mahesh Kumar commended the government for presenting a balanced budget in difficult times. He suggested bringing more women of Tharparkar district under the ambit of BISP to benefit the poor and deserving people. Taking the floor, Minister for Defense Khawaja Asif said media freedom is a basic component of any democratic society. He mentioned that there have been incidents of attacks and violence against journalists in the country. He said such incidents only tarnish the image of the country. He said it is our responsibility to raise our voices for the fundamental rights of the journalists. The chair in his remarks expressed the confidence that the government will fulfill its responsibility regarding protection of journalists.