ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders, while addressing a press conference at Zardari House, Islamabad, on Sunday, said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Pakistan is like an epidemic due to which the whole country is engulfed in multiple crises.
PPP Secretary Information Dr Nafisa Shah, PPP chairman’s spokesperson Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Senator Rubina Khalid, Tariq Shah and Nazir Dhoki were present on the occasion.
Dr Nafisa said that Pakistan did not need a traditional budget this year because of Covid-19 which is the biggest threat to the lives of Pakistani people. She said that the budget should have been a “peoples’ budget” and in the interest of the people. She added that this budget was abhorred by every sector in Pakistan because it failed to address the real issues.
“The government gave wrong statistics despite the fact that the pandemic will remain in Pakistan God knows for how long,” she said, adding that the government disappointed employees by not increasing their wages.
“No relief was given to the poor people of Pakistan and the government has imposed indirect taxes of Rs450 billion,” she further said.
Senator Mustafa said that the government should have allocated funds to deal with Covid-19 and should have also given more health budget to the provinces so that the patients could be looked after. No relief package was announced for health workers, he added.
“The prime minister followed the countries which messed up their fight against Covid-19,” he said, adding that an individual has been imposed on Pakistan who is not capable of running the country or putting the economy on the right track.
Senator Rubina said that yesterday an All Parties’ Conference (APC) was held in Peshawar where very important decisions have been taken. She said that it is very unfortunate that the people who have made this federal budget will also make the budget for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The health system in KP is in tatters and oxygen is not available in hospitals in KP, she added.
Tariq Shah said that the government is putting people in misery instead of providing them relief. “This budget has nothing for government employees and the poor people of Pakistan. The government has deducted up to 12 per cent from the share of provinces,” he said, adding that the government has totally ignored the agriculture sector and the food security is under threat.
