The National Assembly is continuing discussion on the next fiscal year’s budget.
At the outset, the house offered fateha for five soldiers martyred in a blast in Kurram.
Participating in the debate, Mirza Ikhtiar Baig commended the government’s initiative of reducing the electricity tariff for the industries. He, however, opposed the increase in petroleum development levy by twenty rupees.
Mustafa Kamal emphasized out of box solutions to deal with the issues in the power sector. He said we should shift to an interest free financial system.
Taking the floor, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal regretted the incident of mob lynching in Swat. He said it is not an isolated incident. He said this house should take notice of the despicable incident and constitute a special committee for framing a national plan of action aimed at ensuring rule of law in the country.
Qadir Patel proposed the imposition of wealth tax on assets. He said this measure could become a major revenue generator.
Hanif Abbassi said the budget has been presented in a very difficult situation. He was confident that the country will see investment worth billions of dollars in one year as a result of the government’s efforts.
Asad Qaiser said economic corridors should be established with Iran, Afghanistan and China.
Hameed Hussain said steps should be taken to curb terrorist acts and improve security situation.
Sharmila Farooqi said the budget of Benazir Income Support Program should be further enhanced in order to enroll more deserving families.
Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said the government has put the country in the right economic direction.
Zartaj Gul said Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to the climate change. She said the budget of four billion rupees allocated to deal with this challenge during the next fiscal year is not sufficient.
Shehryar Mehr welcomed the increase in the defense budget. He emphasized it is important in view of the security challenges faced by the country on the internal and external fronts.
Others who spoke on the occasion included: Shehryar Afridi, Hafeez Uddin and Sana Ullah Khan Masti Khel.
The House has now been adjourned to meet again on Sunday at 11:00 am.
