-After 3 days of ruckus, NA sees peaceful Session
-Entry ban on 7 MNAs lifted
Shahbaz delivers speech in NA
By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday defended economic figures in National Assembly.
He wished if Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, who is the guarantor of his elder brother, had advised Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo Nawaz Sharif to return to the country.
Speaking on the floor of the Lower House of the Parliament on Thursday, he said that Nawaz Sharif has been the prime minister of the country three times.
Asad Umar said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has built cancer hospital in the country for poor people, adding that the prime minister was offered treatment from the United States and the United Kingdom, when he fell off the stage in 2013 but he refused.
The minister wished that the PML-N leadership had built for their own treatment and a hospital that Nawaz Sharif would have believed in after ruling the federation three times. “The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gave us a two-thirds majority for the second time,” Asad Omar said and added those using slogan of “Respect of Vote” should give respect to the vote of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said the PML-N said they would have change the fate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa if they had been given Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that the PML-N, ANP, JUI and Jamaat-e-Islami have also ruled the province but they failed to deliver.
Asad Umar said the government has successfully reduced current account deficit, increased exports, strengthened industry and agriculture and provided relief to the people in the time of Covid-19 pandemic.
He said massive relief was given to the people through Ehsaas programme, provided subsidy on essential items through Utility Stores, reduced policy rate from 13 per cent to seven percent.
The minister further said foreign remittances grew by 29.4 percent, which reflects overseas Pakistanis’ confidence in PM Imran Khan.
Regarding revenue collection, the minister said it witnessed a growth of 17.9 per cent from July to May and total collection by the end of this fiscal year is expected to reach Rs 4.8 trillion. He said IT exports raised by 46 per cent, which is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan.
Regarding construction of water reservoirs and other irrigation projects, Asad Umer said work is underway on three big dams and several irrigation projects in all the provinces to provide sufficient quantity of water for the agriculture sector.
“The government has launched a mother-child nutrition program for the better health of the coming generation,” the minister said and added the government is also working on providing universal health coverage through Sehat Insaf Card.
Regarding Covid-19, the Minister said 193 rupees have been reserved to procure anti-covid vaccine to be provided to all the provinces indiscriminately. He said the vaccine will be administered to the people free of cost.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday finally delivered his speech in the Lower House after three days of rowdy behaviour by lawmakers.
Moments before Shahbaz’s speech, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak had announced that the government and Opposition had reached an agreement to run the National Assembly “in an orderly manner”.
The announcement followed days of ruckus and general disorder in the lower house of Parliament as the Treasury and Opposition benches sparred over the federal budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
Speaking on the floor of the NA, the Opposition leader said all of the lawmakers present in the assembly were elected by 220 million Pakistanis and they were responsible for changing the nation’s future for the better.
There was complete silence in the house during Shehbaz Sharif’s speech, who lashed out at the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan for “ruining lives of Pakistanis”.
Earlier in the day, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had lifted a ban on seven MNAs who were barred from entering the House over ‘disorderly’ conduct.
The staff and security of the National Assembly had also been informed about the decision of the Speaker. Seven Members of National Assembly were barred from entering the parliament over ‘grossly disorderly’ conduct.
According to the order, on 14th and 15th June, during the speech of the Leader of the Opposition on budget 2021-22, the conduct of the seven lawmakers was grossly disorderly as they violated the rules and despite repeated directions, they interrupted proceedings of the House.
The lawmakers include Ali Gohar Khan, Chaudhry Hamid Hameed, Sheikh Rohale Asghar, Faheem Khan, Abdul Majeed Khan, Ali Nawaz Awan and Syed Agha Rafiullah.
It merits mention that the decision came after the National Assembly turned into a battleground on Tuesday as the opposition and treasury members scuffled with each other and threw budget documents and books when the latter continued their noisy protest to disrupt Shehbaz’s budget speech for a second consecutive day.
