Govt, opposition should jointly make Pakistan’s long-term economic policy: Zardari tells NA

A day after the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser issued his production orders, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari arrived at the Parliament House on Thursday.

Speaking on the floor of the Parliament, the PPP leader thanked the NA speaker for issuing his production orders. Participating in the debate on the Federal Budget, Zardari said that there was no doubt that the budget was not made by the finance ministry.

He said the government has increased the salaries of government employees but simultaneously have also imposed taxes on them. He continued that those already paying taxes should not be further burdened.

The former president said that the government as well as the opposition should sit together to formulate a long-term economic policy for the country. "Pakistan is here, so we are all here, if there is no Pakistan, then none of us are anything," he added.

Zardari said that the current wave of accountability should be stopped as it was worrying industrialists and businessmen. "The average people say, if Zardari can be arrested, then what about us," he further said.

The PPP leader has been in National Accountability Bureau's custody in the money laundering through fake accounts case since June 10. His physical remand will end on June 21.