Budget anti-people, anti-farmer: PPPP

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Sunday termed the government an epidemic and said Pakistan was engulfed in multiple crises due to its incompetence and incapability.

“Pakistan did not need a traditional budget this year because of Covid-19, which is the biggest threat to the lives of the people,” said Secretary Information PPPP Dr. Nafisa Shah, spokesman for the PPP Chairman Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Senator Rubina Khalid, Tariq Shah MNA and Nazir Dhoki while addressing a press conference at the Zardari House here.

Nafisa said budget should have been pro-people adding that the budget announced by a ‘selected’ government was not only anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-industrialist, and anti-traders, but also pro-corona and pro-locust.

She said the budget was abhorred by every sector in Pakistan because it failed to address the real issues.

She said the government gave wrong statistics and only Allah Almighty knew how long the pandemic would persist in Pakistan.

She said the government disappointed employees by not increasing their wages.

“No relief was given to the poor people of Pakistan and the government has slapped Rs450 billion indirect taxes,” she said.

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the government should have allocated funds to deal with Covid-19.

He said the health budget should have been increased so that the provincial governments could look after the patients.

“No relief package was announced for the health workers,” he said.

He said the prime minister always followed the countries, which messed up their fight against the Covid-19. He said an ‘individual’ incapable of running the country or putting the economy on the right track had been imposed on Pakistan.

Senator Rubina Khalid said yesterday an APC was held in Peshawar where very important decisions had been taken.

She said it was very unfortunate that the people who made the federal budget will also make budget for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“The health system in KP is in tatters and oxygen is not available in hospitals,” she said.

Tariq Shah MNA said the government was putting people in misery instead of providing them with relief.

“This budget has nothing for the government employees and the poor people,” he said, adding that the government had deducted up to 12% from the share of provinces.