Treasury, opposition slam govt over POL prices

ISLAMABAD: The coalition government came under fire from the treasury and opposition in the National Assembly for the midnight increase in the prices of petroleum products during a discussion on the budget Thursday.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Mir Muhammad Khan Jamali and Afzal Khan Dhandla of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Mohsin Dawar from treasury benches raised their voice against the increase in petroleum products.

Maulana Chitrali, while raising the issue, said that Federal Ministers Mifah Ismali and Javed Latif had given a midnight gift to the nation by increasing the petroleum products prices. “The masses have received the IMF gift in the shape of a huge increase in petroleum prices,” he said. “The last government after approaching the IMF had committed suicide and now the present government is following the same policy.”

He recalled that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the opposition leader used to cry for the poor and wondered if he feels their pain now. Mir Muhammad Khan Jamali of the PTI, who returned to the house after over two months’ absence, rejected the impression that he had tendered his resignation from the National Assembly. He said he still had complete confidence in the leadership of Imran Khan but he had differed with him on the issue of resignations. Denying media reports, he said he had never tendered his resignation. Jamali regretted that prices of petrol and diesel had been increased by Rs84 and Rs119 in the last one week. He said the PMLN and its allies had made tall claims before coming to power but now everyone was witnessing their performance. He said the government should focus on reducing the prices of essential items to provide relief to the poor. He also urged the provincial governments to release funds to local bodies, so that development could be ensured at the grassroot level.

Mohsin Dawar said that the government had invented an easy formula for increase in prices of petroleum products and the same was bringing every day a new storm of price hike in the country. “The government has completely fallen into the IMF trap by meeting its demands,” he said. He said instead of the elite, the poor and lower middle class had been burdened with taxes. He called for allocating sufficient funds for the rehabilitation of the displaced people of erstwhile tribal areas. He said arrangements should be made for the repatriation of displaced Pakistani citizens from Afghanistan. Afzal Khan Dhandla of the PTI also rejected the increase in petroleum prices, saying the government should find some other solutions to come out of crises. “The government is suffocating poor masses for the sake of one billion dollars of IMF,” he said. He said the recent increase in petroleum prices was unbearable and the government should immediately withdraw this raise.

Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf welcomed Mir Muhammad Khan Jamali to the house. He said no parliamentarian could perform his national duty by staying outside the house. “One should express one’s views from the floor of the National Assembly,” the speaker said, adding that every elected representative of the house was a respectable person.

Taking part in the general discussion on the budget, Aslam Bhootani appreciated the government for presenting a balanced budget in a tough economic situation. He drew the attention of the government towards addressing the problems being faced by the people of Lasbela.

Syed Javed Husnain Shah hoped that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, would steer the country out of crises and put it on the road to development. He urged the government to incentivise the agriculture sector to make the country self-sufficient in food.

Muhammad Jamaluddin said that one should expect the same budget after an agreement with the IMF. He said no funds had been allocated for districts in ex-Fata. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq proposed a committee comprising members of the house from both sides of the aisle to look into a proposal to waive the farm tax. He said the government would arrange a meeting of the committee with the president of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank in this regard.

Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmed Khan said more funds should be diverted towards education, health, power, and agriculture sectors. He said a university should be established in the Muzaffargarh district.

Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan of the PMLN appreciated the government for withdrawing 17 percent GST on farm machinery and inputs and Rs21 billion for the livestock sector. He, however, said more measures were needed to protect the farm community.

Syed Hussain Tariq said lauded the government for presenting a balanced and reasonable budget. He called for long-term and sustained policies to attract foreign and local investors for a stable economy. He said modern technology should be introduced to the agriculture sector to increase our per acre yield.

Ehsanul Haq Bajwa said Bahawalnagar district should be brought under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and linked with railways and motorways to facilitate the people of the area. Amir Ali Khan Magsi called for brick lining of canals and water courses to conserve water for irrigation purposes. During the debate, Dr Ramesh Kumar said the National Assembly May 9, 2022, had adopted a resolution with regard to protection of minorities rights. He asked the government to constitute a task force on minorities rights and said he be named the chairman of the same. Shahida Rehmani said women make 51 percent of Pakistan’s population but a meager amount of 0.75 percent of development budget has been earmarked in the Finance Bill for the next fiscal year for this segment.