Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
At the outset, Minister for Water Resources Khursheed Shah on Wednesday voiced his concern over the absence of other cabinet members and MNAs from the house.
Addressing the National Assembly he said we have rendered sacrifices for the sake of democracy, stressing that the elected representatives should accord respect to the house by ensuring their presence. He requested the chair to adjourn proceedings of the house till the quorum is complete.
On this, the chair said it is a very important session of the National Assembly as the budget for next fiscal year is under discussion. He said responsibility rests with both the treasury and opposition benches to ensure that the quorum is complete. He hoped that the elected representatives would fulfill their national duty.
The National Assembly is continuing discussion on the budget for the next fiscal year. Participating in the debate, Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani stressed the need for exploiting the country’s resources in order to provide basic amenities of life to the people. He said we need to set the direction right by focusing on agriculture and industries to take the country forward on the path of development.
Taking part in the budget discussion, Chaudhary 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 for 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.
