National Assembly resumed its session at the parliament house in Islamabad on Tuesday with Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the chair.

The house offered fateha for those killed in recent terrorist incident in North Waziristan and former Provincial Minister Bakht Baidar Khan, who passed away in Lower Dir a few days back.

The Chair said our security forces have rendered immense sacrifices in the war on terrorism. Strongly condemning terror incidents, he said we have to fight this menace with unity.

The National Assembly today adopted a resolution extending the General Statistics (Re-organization) Amendment Ordinance, 2022 for a further period of one hundred and twenty days.

It was moved by Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar.

Participating in the budget debate, Shahnaz Baloch said the relevant stakeholders should sit together to chart out a way forward to rid the country of debt. She said special focus should be given to the development of Balochistan.

Riaz ul Haq said the government should address the issue of circular debt. He said water reservoirs should be constructed to overcome the issue of water scarcity and ensure food security.

Shams-un-Nisa was appreciative of the government for extending relief to the masses including employees in the budget regardless of the difficult economic situation.

Tahira Aurangzeb said the budget envisages a special loan scheme for the youth which will help them stand on their own feet.

She said the government has also given unprecedented incentives to the agriculture sector.

Maulana Kamal Uddin said difficult decisions have to be taken to bring reforms in loss making institutions. He said this is important to take the country in the right direction.

Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon said the political parties should set aside their differences and agree on a charter of economy for the sake of the country. He said political stability is a must to bring prosperity in the country. He proposed that farmers should be given interest free loans for switching to solar tube-wells.

Sajid Mehdi said all the political parties should sit together and devise a common strategy to put the country on the path of development. He urged the government to take concrete steps for the development of the agriculture sector.

Ayesha Rajab Ali demanded the government to establish a university campus, a girls’ college, and to up-gradate the Tehsil Headquarters hospital in Tandlianwala.

Those who also spoke on the occasion, Mussarat Rafique Mahesar, Javaria Zafar Aheer, Nuzhat Pathan, Shakeela Luqman, and Zeb Jaffer.

The House will now meet on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Meanwhile, The Senate also resumed discussion on the budget for next fiscal year.

Participating in the discussion, Danesh Kumar said that the Government should allocate 20 percent of the budget for Kuchlak-Quetta road. He urged all the political parties to join hands to put the country on the path of development instead of indulging in political point scoring.

Mian Razza Rabbani said no compromise should be made on the sovereignty of the country. He said no dictation should be accepted from the IMF in the budget for next fiscal year. He demanded the government to present the agreements signed with the IMF in Parliament.

Mohammad Abdul Qadir suggested that no more taxes should be imposed on the general public and business community. He suggested restructuring of the Federal Board of Revenue to broaden the tax net of the country. He said the government should formulate policies to support entrepreneurs in the IT sector, which is a big source of earning foreign exchange.

Bahramand Khan Tangi said the previous government of PTI took twenty thousand billion rupees in their tenure which is the highest loan ever taken in the history of Pakistan. He demanded the government to increase at least ten percent in pension and a sufficient raise in the salaries of government employees in proportion to the inflation ratio. He suggested increasing budget allocation for the Waseela-e- Haq program as it is directly linked with the lives of the general public. He said that sports grounds at Tehsil level should be established across Pakistan.

Jam Mahtab Hussain Dahar said the government should focus on the wind power system and in this regard Sindh has enough potential that can be explored in the best interest of Pakistan.

Sardar Shafiq Tareen stressed for the early provision of scholarships to students of ex FATA and Balochistan. He demanded more funds for Balochistan in the next year’s budget. He strongly condemned the killing of four youth in North Waziristan.

Source: Radio Pakistan