Govt allocated Rs 1200 bln relief package to deal pandemic impact: Murad Saeed
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ISLAMABAD-National Assembly resumed its session at the parliament house in Islamabad today [Tuesday] with Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri in the chair.
On the points of PML (N) leader Khawaja Asif, the chair said Pakistan will never accept Israel which is occupying the land of Palestinians.
He said our hearts beat with the oppressed Palestinian people.
Minister for Communications Murad Saeed said the Kashmir dispute stands internationalized as a result of the efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He said the way Imran Khan has pleaded the case of Kashmiris at the international level is unprecedented.
He pointed out that it was after a passage of fifty years that the UN Security Council held discussions on the Kashmir dispute twice a year.
Participating in the discussion on the budget 2020-21, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the budget 2020-21 has not been prepared keeping in view the current challenges including that of Corona Virus and Locusts.
He said the budget carries no packages for the provinces to deal with the pandemic.
He stressed the recommendations of the WHO should be followed to save the lives and the economy.
He said the budget for the income support program should have been enhanced by at least forty percent in view of the Covid-19 challenge.
He said the government should have taxed the affluent class in order to extend relief to the poor.
The PPP Chairman regretted that no increase has been given to the public sector employees and pensioners.
He said the current situation warranted a historic raise in their salaries and pensions.
He recalled that PPP in its five years tenure enhanced the salaries by 150 percent and those of armed forces by 175 percent.
He said the PPP also increased pensions by 100 percent.
PML-N Rana Tanvir Hussain said the government should support farmers to enhance the agriculture yield.
He said proper planning should be done to control the locust attack and ensure food security.
The PPP Chairman said the federal as well as provincial and local governments should enhance their revenues.
He said the share of federating units in the NFC should not be cut.
Minister for Communications Murad Saeed said the government is pursuing the strategy of protecting the people from Coronavirus and unemployment as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He said the government has given a massive stimulus package of 1200 billion rupees to support different segments of society during these testing times.
Murad Saeed said the government has increased the health and education budget for the next fiscal year.
The Minister for Communications said the tax collection was witnessing a growth of seventeen percent before the breakout of Covid-19.
During that period, our foreign direct investment also increased by 137 percent whilst exports and remittances also registered an increase. He said the government has also cut its expenditures.
He said it is the first time in the country’s history that no new tax has been imposed in the budget. He said 208 billion rupees have been allocated this year for Ehsaas program.
He said our priority is development to trigger economic activity and generate employment opportunities.
He said we have started work on the western route of the CPEC.
He said the PTI government executed 1824 kilometers of road infrastructure projects during the last two years. He said more projects have been envisaged for the next fiscal year.
The House will now meet again tomorrow at 11 in the morning.