NA erupts as PTI dismisses federal budget
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly went into one of its wildest frenzy on Tuesday, as opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers unleashed a barrage of criticism, out-rightly dismissing the finance bill for the forthcoming year of fiscal prudence.
As the government tried to roll out its financial blueprint, the PTI launched a loud protest, blasting the proposed budget before the finance minister could even catch his breath.
Opposition Leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan, Shahid Khattak, Zartaj Gul Wazir, Iqbal Afridi, Sanaullah Mastikhel and Jamshed Dasti led the protest.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Ali Muhammad Khan, Sheryar Afridi, and a handful of others; however, were completely missing in action.
The protesting PTI legislators pounded their desks and raised loud slogans. They surged forward, practically overrunning the NA Speaker's dais mid-speech by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, turning the House into a fish market.
At this, the government ministers had to rush in, forming a human shield around Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's chair, just to keep the PTI hotheads at bay.
Later, talking to reporters, PTI leaders blasted the government, terming the federal budget as a 'disgusting' giveaway to the rich backed by the 'installed regime'.
The opposition leader labelled the budget 'anti-poor,' 'pro-elite,' and a puppet show dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The budget, he declared, was the 'worst in the country's history.'
Earlier in the day, during a meeting of the party's parliamentary committee, the PTI leaders were particularly incensed by the National Assembly speaker's pay hike, which they slammed as 'shameful.'
The speaker's salary jumped from Rs250,000 to a 'whopping' Rs1.3 million, a move PTI called 'disgusting'. They accused the Sharif administration of leaving the 'poverty-stricken masses' at the mercy of God, while showering everything on the rich.
However, in a message on X, PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram laid out the numbers, pointing to ballooning interest payments as proof of economic mismanagement.
'The difference in the government's interest payments from Rs3,182 billion to Rs8,633 billion, i.e., an additional burden of Rs5,500 billion, came from the PTI to the PDM government,' he wrote. 'They are absolutely right in saying that these are experimental people, not in work, but in fraud and deceit…!'
Speaking to reporters, PTI leaders rejected the budget and accused the Sharif administration of 'completely ruining the economy' and piling on debt. They blamed a 'brain drain,' flawed economic policies, and political instability for wrecking the country.
The PTI vowed to resist the budget 'tooth and nail,' promising a fight to the finish against what they see as a blatant power grab by the ruling elite.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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