ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcast Fawad Chaudhry Tuesday invited the opposition to discuss with the government the proposed electoral and judicial reforms to reach a consensus.
Addressing the National Assembly during a debate, the minister said the government will welcome the suggestions of the opposition parties on the amendments — The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2020 — proposed in October last to restore the credibility of general elections.
Major changes proposed in the bill include more financial autonomy for the Election Commission of Pakistan, right of appeal to the Supreme Court by any aggrieved person on delimitation lists, the vacation of seats of a returned candidate if the oath is not taken within 60 days of the first sitting of the assembly, voting right for nationals living abroad and the use of electronic voting machines in elections.
Opposition parties have strongly objected to the use of EVMs and giving foreign nationals the right to vote despite championing the cause during their respective tenures.
In his speech, Fawad said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government wanted to strengthen the election commission. The use of electronic voting, he said, was critical to ensure transparency and fairness in the polls.
The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan has put the country on the right track with the economy witnessing accelerated growth, he added.
He said while the opposition parties reserved the right to criticise the government, the responsibility also rested with it to contribute positively to the system. He urged the opposition to come to “positive politics” to collectively take the country forward.
Declaring the period from 2008 to 2018 as one of darkness for the country, Fawad said the previous governments ruined the economy through their policies. He pointed out that the foreign loans stood at Rs6,000 billion in 2008 which ballooned to Rs26,000 billion in 2018.
Today, he said, the situation was such that the government was paying Rs2,000 billion a year in debt servicing. In addition, Rs900 billion were being dished out in capacity payments to the power plants which he said will surge to Rs1,500 billion by 2023.
The minister further said under the 18th amendment, a big share of revenue went to the provinces and administrative units. He said Rs1,600 to Rs1,700 billion went to Sindh over the last two years under the National Finance Commission award.
He said another Rs700 to Rs750 billion will be doled out to the province in the 2021-2022 fiscal year. He, however, lamented that the Pakistan Peoples Party government in the province has done little for the provision of so much as basic amenities to the people.
He said this was the reason that the prime minister stood up against corruption.
Participating in the budget debate, PTI MP Rahat Amanullah Bhatti said the elected representatives shared the responsibility to launch a sustained campaign against power pilferage and to provide clean drinking water to their constituents.
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal MP Muhammad Jamalud Din said the federal government should increase the compensation of its employees by at least 20 percent.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MP Ahsan Iqbal said unrealistic targets have been set in the proposed budget. He claimed the government will not be able to achieve the revenue collection target of Rs5.8 trillion.
He said efforts should be made to attract foreign direct investment and bolster the exports. He added that additional funds should be allocated for the Higher Education Commission.
Another PTI MP Tahir Sadiq Khan said the salaries of government staffers should be enhanced by 25 percent. He opined that the local government system should be restored to address the public issues at the grassroots level.
PPP MP Shazia Marri termed the budget as anti-people and anti-farmers. She said the figures presented in the budget were fudged.
