RECORDER REPORT

PESHAWAR: The lawmakers of mainstream opposition parties in provincial assembly termed the PTI led coalition government budget 2017-18 as jugglery of words, saying that no direct relief was provided to the poor segment of the society.

Leader of Opposition in KP Assembly, Latuf-ur-Rehman told media after the budget speech that it was a very poor budget as no direct relief was provided to poorest of the poor, labourers and working class.

Despite tall claims of PTI leadership, he said the government was yet to complete 350 dams/power stations in the province and people continue to suffer.

He said PTI had claimed to shift power to grassroots level but that pledge was yet to be fulfilled. He said closure of Maktab schools in KP would adversely affect education of poor students besides dropping literacy rate.

Latuf-ur-Rehman said PTI government had announced education emergency but still a great number of schools were without furniture, washrooms, electricity and other basic facilities like clean drinking water.

The young doctors were protesting due to non resolution of their problems by the PTI government and resultantly patients and their relatives were suffering in public sector hospitals.

The poor patients were being forced to visit private hospitals and laboratories to get treatment on very high prices. “Is it not the responsibility of PTI government to provide quality treatment to patients?” he questioned.

“The repeated experiences in health sectors by the PTI have marred health delivery process in the province. The PTI slogans of bringing reforms in hospitals have remained a slogan,” he said.

He said Imran Khan was carrying begging bowl to run the affairs of KP government and these loans would be paid by the people of this province where unemployment had risen during the last four years.

PML-N Parliamentary leader in KP assembly, Sardar Aurangzaib Nalota said, “It is not the budget of KP rather than of three districts including Nowshera, Sawabi and Dir.” It was a very poor budget with no direct relief to masses, he added.

“How the KP government can provide relief to its people when it is itself running on loans?” he questioned.

“This budget is full of taxes, as heavy taxes are imposed on poor segment of the society who are already bearing the brunt of taxes in KP,” he explained. He said people especially government employees have pinned high hopes from PTI led government about increase in their salaries and pensions as trumpeted by the PTI leaders but their dreams have dashed to ground as only 10 percent increase in their wages and pensions announced. He said that the budget was a jugglery of words and no relief was provided to the masses. He said it would have been better if salaries and pensions of government employees were increased by 20 percent besides increasing minimum wage to Rs 20000.

ANP Parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak also criticized the PTI budget and termed it contradiction in figures, speech and development schemes.

He said PTI government has taken credit of the schemes and projects started by ANP government that was very unfortunate. He said terrorism had badly affected KP infrastructure and it would have been better if PTI government had allocated more funds for it in the budget.

Nighat Orakzai of PPP also slammed PTI budget, saying that no relief was provided to masses. She said PTI has imposed heavy taxes on already overburdened poor segment of society.