KARACHI: On the 3rd day of general discussion on the 2015-16 budget on Thursday, the day started with a token protest walkout from the session by lawmakers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement when Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani refused to allow MQM parliamentarian Muhammad Hussain to table his resolution against the statement made by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in the National Assembly in which, according to the MQM, he had used offensive language against Mohajirs.

“The rules of the business of the assembly do not allow taking up of any other business during the budget discussion,” the speaker said. After an exchange of remarks between the chair and the MQM legislator, raising slogans, the MQM MPAs attending the session wearing black armbands as a mark of protest against the defence minister’s remarks, staged a walkout.

Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary party leader and Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro, endorsing the stand of the chair, said that a resolution or any other business could not be taken up during a budget session and requested the MQM legislators to return to the house.

The speaker said that according to parliamentary traditions the government should bring them back into the house. Mehtab Akbar Rashdi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional deplored that always only a particular opposition group was persuaded to end their protest and return to the house, as when her party colleagues staged a walkout they were not approached by the ruling party to return to the session.

Mr Khuhro and Dr Sikandar Mandhro, who is minister for parliamentary affairs, brought back the protesting MQM lawmakers.

Rs54 billion outstanding against the federal government

When the PPP ministers had gone to bring back the MQM lawmakers, Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah taking the house on board about federal releases to the province said the federal government had to pay Rs70 billion from the proceeds of duty to Sindh but only Rs15 billion was received from it and Rs54 billion was outstanding against the federal government. He said he had written a letter to the federal minister for finance in that regard and if the province did not receive its share, the deficit during the current year budget would increase further.

Discussion

After the return of the MQM to the house, Sorath Thebo of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said the PPP, which had been in power for the past seven years in Sindh, had destroyed the province, where not only in education but in every field there was decay, unemployment was on the rise, medicines were not available in hospitals, transport was nowhere, whereas in Punjab the metro bus had become operational. In short, Sindh was giving the look of another Moenjodaro, he said.

Rauf Siddiqui of the MQM said Khawaja Asif had insulted not only the 50 million Mohajirs but also the Quaid-i-Azam, Allama Iqbal and the three million slain Muslims.

Referring to the budget, he said the government had earmarked a huge amount for law and order even though peace had not been restored to the province. He lamented that Nawaz Sharif had announced payment of a Rs20 million compensation to the victims of the Baldia garments fire, but the amount had not been paid.

Erum Khalid of the PPP said that despite Sindh being deprived of the full share from the federal government, presentation of a balance budget deserved appreciation of the government. The provision of 25,000 jobs would help in reducing unemployment, she said, and the Rs96m allocation for women augured well, but more funds should to be earmarked for it.

Dr Rafique Bhanban of the PML-F said the condition of government hospitals and dispensaries was very bad where even ordinary medicines were not available. Even anti-snakebite vaccine was not available in the hospitals of Thar, and the irrigations system had been destroyed.

Aamir Moin Peerzada of the MQM said the proposals and schemes given by members be included in the budget.

Kulsoom Chandio of the PPP termed the budget exemplary despite big cuts by the federal government in its due share.

Ayesha Aftab of the MQM also slammed Khawaja Asif’s remarks. She also said the most important issue in Sindh was law and order and the 10 per cent increase in the budget for law and order was good but durable peace in Karachi could only return if local people were recruited in police.

Waryam Faqir of the PML-F said coordinator of the chief minister’s inspection team Haji Muzaffar Hussain Shujra himself had exposed the working of the government.

Sharmila Farooqui of the PPP said the government had presented a balance and realistic budget in which a 28 per cent increase was given on education allocation, followed by health and law and order priorities.

Naheed Begum of the MQM said that it was good that the government had allocated Rs200m for Lyari University, but other universities in Karachi and elsewhere were ignored. She demanded setting up of a women’s university in Sukkur.

Poonjo Bheel of the MQM presented a strong case for Thar and the religious minorities. He said instead of spending billions of rupees on RO plants in Thar, which had become non-functional, the government should have used the money to revive the Khakro river.

PML-N’s Syed Ejaz Shirazi said during the last three years not a single penny had been earmarked for the three constituencies from where we were elected. Frahat Seemi, Shamim of the PPP and Naila Munir of the MQM also spoke.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2015

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