Shahbaz Sharif slams govt during NA speech, says budget is ‘fake’

The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday took a jibe at the PTI government and said that the recent budget is “fake” as it has further pushed people into poverty.

Shahbaz, referring to the 21 government bills that were passed on June 10, said the lawmaking done a few days ago has flaws in it.

“The pockets of the poor people are empty and they were not able to feed their families. In three years, 20 million people have been pushed below the poverty line, while the growth rate has come down drastically in the last year,” said the PML-N president, who finally got a chance to deliver his speech in the National Assembly after three days of ruckus.

He said that the salaries of labourers have fallen by 18% in the last three years as people keep asking where are the promised 10 million jobs and 5 million houses.

“The unemployment rate stands at 15% […] Food prices have shot up by 30% in the last three years,” he said.

“There are unprecedented differences between the provinces […] If the government only develops Punjab and leaves out rest of the provinces, then this is not development,” the Opposition leader said.

Shahbaz, further slamming the government, said it had devoted its energy to revenge instead of accountability. “The Opposition has been subjected to the worst kind of revenge.”

PPP’s Khurshid Shah, his son, and PML-N’s Khawaja Asif remain behind bars till date, Shahbaz lamented.

He said when coronavirus had hit the country, the Opposition had sat down with the government to discuss a plan of action, but Prime Minister Imran Khan left the meeting.

“You had pushed us against the wall even when we tried to help you during the stressful times of coronavirus,” he said.

Casting aspersions on the government’s spendings, he asked that why were billions of rupees not spent on coronavirus vaccines?

“If this budget will not reduce poverty, then we condemn it, and we will not allow this house to pass it,” Shahbaz said. “No nation prospers if the government destroys the agricultural and industrial sector,” Shahbaz said.

The Opposition leader said Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin claims the country’s economy is boosting, but despite that, wheat prices went up from Rs35 to Rs70.

Shahbaz said 1.1 million tonnes of sugar were exported with the prime minister’s approval, and a subsidy worth billions of rupees was given on it.

“First sugar and wheat were exported, then they were imported — it incurred a loss of billions of rupees on the national exchequer,” Shahbaz said.

‘PM’s seat remains empty’

Shahbaz said during the PML-N’s government the International Monetary Fund’s programme had been completed, but now, the progress has reversed during PTI’s three years.

“The government should inform the Opposition about the conditions of the IMF,” he said, as the government keeps reiterating that the international money lender had imposed harsh conditions.

The Opposition leader slammed the prime minister for not taking the house in confidence.

Shahbaz, pointing towards the prime minister’s seat, said: “This seat remains empty when there is a discussion on Afghanistan; this seat remains empty when there is a discussion on Palestine and Kashmir, this seat remains empty when there is a discussion on inflation and unemployment; this seat remains empty when there is a discussion on coronavirus.”

Taking a jibe at PM Imran Khan again, Shahbaz said that before his election, he stood upon a container and made tall claims about ending corruption from the country, but failed to do so.

“Today, the practice of giving and taking bribes has become rampant in Punjab [under the PTI government’s rule],” he said.

Shahbaz also talked about the efforts the previous PML-N government employed to make Pakistan better and said that it was Nawaz Sharif who eliminated several problems of the country, including terrorism, electricity load shedding, and patwari culture because he had all the provinces on the same page.