Parties stage walkout

Opposition parties including Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami on Friday walked out of National Assembly to register their protest against presentation of budget for the whole fiscal year 2018-19 by an "unelected minister." During the speech of Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, PTI members gathered in front of his dice and raised slogans against the government. They also tore copies of the budget into pieces and threw them in the air.
The opposition members also resorted to sloganeering, "budget (is) unacceptable," and termed it a pack of lies. "Go Miftah Go, Prime Minister Imran Khan, provide water and electricity," these were the common slogans during the budget speech of the minister.
Members from the treasury benches also came forward and made a shield in front of the finance minister's dice while Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq kept watching the whole scene silently.
During the protest, the PTI's Murad Saeed lunged towards PML-N's Abid Sher Ali as the two engaged in a verbal brawl, but both the members were restrained by their colleagues.
Members of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and disgruntled members of the PTI did not take part in the opposition's walkout from the House. Speaking on the floor of the House before presentation of the budget, Leader of Opposition Khursheed Shah said the government is snatching right of the next government by presenting the budget for whole financial year. He urged the government to present a budget for only four months, adding that next government after the general elections should have a right to present the complete budget.
Protesting about elevation of Miftah Ismail to the status of the federal minister, he said that an unelected minister is going to present the budget despite being availability of state minister for finance. "Nawaz Sharif has been presenting a narrative of "respect for vote" but the government is ruining his narrative by allowing an unelected minister to present the budget," he said. Shah said that it is for the first time in the parliamentary history of Pakistan that an unelected minister is presenting the federal budget. PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the government is setting new tradition by allowing an unelected member to present the budget which is morally incorrect. Three chief ministers had boycotted the meeting of the National Economic Council, highest decision-making body on financial matters, but the government is adamant to bulldoze the opposition, he said.
In a bid to clarify the whole matter, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that it is responsibility of the government to run affairs of the state, adding that the next government will have right to fix the priorities. He said that the government has also presented a five-year plan.
About Miftah Ismail, he said that it is decision of the cabinet to elevate Ismail to the status of federal minister to present the budget. He also lauded Ismail's efforts to prepare the budget, saying that he has a right to present the budget too.
The Prime Minister said that everybody in the House is aware of the responsibilities of the state minister, adding State Minister for Finance Rana Afzal has assisted in preparation of the budget. Afterwards the opposition parties walked out of the House, but the PTI members came back to stage a protest against the government. Talking to media persons outside the Parliament House, PTI's MNA Dr Arif Alvi said that the outgoing government has no justification to present a budget for the whole year.
"It's an illegal budget presented by a 'stranger,' which cannot be accepted at all," he said referring to newly appointed Finance Minister Miftah Ismail. He said that the budget has nothing to do with the masses, but an effort has been made to conduct pre-poll rigging in the shape of approving the PSDP without the approval of the provinces. He said that the government got approved the PSDP from the National Economic Council (NEC) without the approval of the chief ministers of the four provinces, adding the chief ministers of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan had boycotted the recent NEC meeting and the chief minister Punjab was also not present when the PSDP was approved. "What kind of federation is it? The center is approving the PSDP for the provinces without the approval of the federating units. It is nothing but a pre-poll rigging of the PML-N government," he said.
Shazia Marri of the PPP termed the PML-N government's last budget as "joke" with the nation, saying that an outgoing government has neither moral nor legal grounds to present its budget for the whole year.
She alleged that the government "bulldozed" the opposition's viewpoint which wanted the government to present budget for only four months and leave the whole year's budget on the upcoming government. "We reject this budget, as the government has no justification to present it for a whole year when it is going to complete its terms shortly," she added. MQM-P senior leader Iqbal Mohammad Ali gave a cautious reaction of the party, saying that the party would be in a position to give its reaction after thoroughly studying the budget documents. However, he said that the government has announced measures for the low-grade employees, "which is encouraging." He also supported the government's point of view for presenting the budget for the whole year, saying that the next government would have the option to make amendments according to the requirements.