The ruling Muslim League-N (PML-N) faced an unprecedented backlash from its own members in the National Assembly yesterday, after MLAs presented Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb with a ‘tax-rich’ budget on the orders of the IMF. drew heavy criticism, with even a key government ally boycotting the ongoing budget debate.
On the second day of the debate on the budget in the National Assembly, the absence of the finance minister and other federal ministers from the house was severely criticized by the government and opposition members.
The largest party in the ruling coalition, the Pakistan People’s Party, continued its protest through a ‘symbolic participation’ in the House. PP members attended the meeting, but agreed with the government on the timing of government formation and consultation on budget preparation. He did not participate in the debate in protest over the alleged violation of the agreement reached.
The PPP’s boycott of the debate came as a surprise to many following reports of a settlement between the two parties following a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday.
Interestingly, five members of the Muslim League (N) participated in the debate on Friday but none of them dared to support the government’s economic policies, complaining that during the preparation of the budget Finance Minister and bureaucrats were also not consulted.
Muslim League (N) Member of Parliament Asianaz Tanoli praised her party for saving the country from bankruptcy, but mostly spoke about the performance of the PML-N government under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.
Opposition leaders belonging to the Sunni Ittehad Council slammed the government for allegedly targeting the party for political vendetta and demanded the immediate release of PTI founder chairman Imran Khan and other party leaders and activists, who have been accused of various crimes. There are cases in jails.
