Increase in gas, electricity prices: Opposition to protest in NA today: PML-N leaders

Senior leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have said that opposition would launch a protest today (Friday) in National Assembly if Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government doesn't withdraw escalation in prices of gas and electricity. "We will demand the PTI government in the Lower House of the Parliament on Friday to withdraw the recent increase in the prices of gas and electricity. If the PTI government does not fulfil our demand then we would launch a protest against it," PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal and Rana Sanaullah expressed these views while addressing a joint news conference in front of the Parliament House on Thursday.
They also urged the speaker National Assembly to issue production order for PML-N MNA Khawaja Saad Rafiq and criticised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the arrest of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, saying any institution cannot arrest a person without any proofs and reasons. They said that former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar would be summoned in the parliamentary body to explain about collection of Rs 9 billion in the name of construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam while spending Rs 13 billion on the publicity campaign of it.
Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the PTI government put the burden of economy on the poor by increasing the price of gas and electricity. He said that there is no justification to increase prices of gas and electricity. He said that the government should have to find the solution without increasing the prices of gas and electricity. Answering a question, Abbasi said, "I have remained minister of this department, the PTI government should send two officers to me, I will give its solution to them within an hour."
He said that protest is compulsory on the arrest of a speaker of a federating unit without any proofs and reasons. The NAB should make accountability but it arrested the opposition leader of National Assembly and speaker Sindh Assembly without any proofs which seems an attack on democracy and the Parliament. "This is not a personal matter of Agha Siraj Durrani but that of a sitting speaker," he added. He said, "No one has reservations with inquiries. No evidence has been found against Saad Rafique as yet. The National Assembly speaker should issue Rafique's production orders as it is his right to represent his constituency." He further said, "If the speaker wants to run the democratic system then he should issue production order of Saad Rafiq."
Former Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal said that the poor are in miserable conditions due to increasing prices of gas, electricity and petroleum products. "We will start strong protest against the government in the Parliament if it does not withdraw escalating gas and electricity prices," he said.
He said that according to the report of the State Bank of Pakistan, there has been an increase of Rs 100 billion in deficit this year as compared to the previous year. He said that the PTI government claimed to reduce the deficit by decreasing non-development expenditures but the picture is quite opposite.
He said that there is Rs 176 billion shortfall in tax collection while the PTI government is claiming Rs 190 billion increase in revenue in mini-budget which has been presented in the National Assembly.
The PML-N leader said that according to State Bank's report, the PTI government cut down more than 45 percent development budget while the PML-N government has increased Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) form Rs 300 billion to Rs 1,000 billion in its tenure. "We increased the space of PSDP and included projects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), 1,750 kilometres motorways and LNG power projects in it."
"We spent Rs 122 billion for purchasing land for Diamer-Bhasha Dam and further allocated Rs 24 billion for the dam. Now, a total of Rs 9 billion have been collected for the dam while Rs 13 billion have been spent on publicity and campaigning for the dam. Former Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar made the nation fool by claiming the construction. Only Rs 1.25 billion have been collected from overseas Pakistan while the remaining amount has been collected by cutting the salaries of the government servants and Rs 2 billion have been collected by cutting the salaries of military employees," he said.
"I demanded that former chief justice should bring before the nation the reality about dam. He made the nation fool in the name of dam. We will summon the former chief justice in the parliamentary committee to explain about it," he added. Ahsan Iqbal claimed that there was 6 percent growth rate of Pakistan in the previous PML-N government and now it has been reduced to 4 percent. "This government is a threat to the nation and economy has suffered a loss of Rs 700- 1,000 billion. The money that came from China and Saudi Arabia was used up in the deficit they caused," he claimed.
Khawaja Asif claimed that the process of price hike continues in the tenure of PTI government. He said that the government has increased Rs 2.75 per unit price of electricity on Wednesday last. "The policy and politics of this government are based on lies. It is political and economic fault line of the PTI government. The prime minister cannot face the criticism of the opposition as he did not attend the session after chairing the parliamentary party meeting on Thursday," he said.
He said that in the previous governments, the then speaker National Assembly issued production orders for Sheikh Rashid, Javed Hashmi and others.