Islamabad: 16 June, 2022- Leader of the Opposition Dr Shahzad Waseem of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opened the debate and said the budget offered no solution to the economic challenges. He said the budget was presented when people were protesting outside the parliament and there was a complete silence in the National Assembly.

He accused the government of being non-serious and focused only on levying taxes and increasing petroleum products prices, resulting in hike in rates of every commodity and service. “The budget welcomes us to old Pakistan where there are islands for the elite but these will not survive for long and the sea of poverty will take them down one day,” he warned. He described the budget as a document of distorted facts and insisted the present rulers were not capable of taking political decisions like going to Russia for cheaper oil and gas, as India was doing and providing 25 per cent cheaper oil to its people.

“These rulers can’t do things, as they can’t get NOC from those on whose directions they are working,” he alleged. Referring to the regional situation, he said it was imperative to increase the defence budget but we needed a strong economy which this ‘imported’ government could not have the ability to even stabilise the economy.