June 19, 2015
News
Dar unveils major budget changes
ISLAMABAD – Finance Minister Ishaq Dar unveiled major budget changes in the National Assembly on Thursday, including a Rs20 billion farm subsidy fund, withdrawal or reduction of some duties and a higher raise in the salary of government employees.
Winding up the general discussion on the budget for 2015-16 after a tumultuous morning session marked by an opposition walkout, Dar announced what he called total acceptance of 20 and partial acceptance of 15 of the 92 non-binding recommendations made by the Senate on Wednesday. He said 66 proposals had been accepted in principle while implementation of remainder 36 proposals was not immediately possible.
The minister did not specify the upper house proposals accepted or not accepted, but said many of those accepted were similar to those made of members of the lower house during nine days of debate, which was at times interrupted by angry political arguments between the opposition and treasury benches.
Dar took pains to counter opposition charges about the budget being pro-rich and anti-poor, citing examples like an increased allocation for the Benazir Income Support Programme to Rs102 billion from Rs97bn, expansion of Baitul Maal charity and a crop insurance scheme and said it was “pro-poor and not pro-rich budget”. The morning sitting saw repeated shouting between members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) provoked by a young PML-N backbencher, Talal Chaudhry.
Chaudhry even refused to comply with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s demand to refrain from talking about the controversy over Lahore’s NA-122 constituency the speaker had won against PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the 2013 general elections, compelling him to give chair to Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi so the member could speak on the issue.
Shouts of “pre-planned” erupted from PTI benches as the speaker made way for his deputy before the party lawmakers stormed out of the house, followed by sympathy walkouts by the main opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the PTI-allied Jamaat-e-Islami.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk