ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers from the treasury and the opposition on Saturday continued to assail the tax-loaded federal budget in the National Assembly, as the PPP, a key partner in the ruling coalition, ended its boycott of the proceedings but only to join the fray, highlighting a number of ‘shortcomings’ in the proposed budget.
It was the third consecutive day of the debate on the budget, presented by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on June 12, and the lower house continued to witness members from both sides of the aisle trading barbs and making personal attacks against each other.
There was pandemonium in the house when the treasury members, mostly the women lawmakers, gathered in front of the speaker’s dais to register their protest over the objectionable remarks made by Sanaullah Mastikhel of the opposition Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) in his speech. The members’ protest forced Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah to suspend the proceedings for a few minutes.
Later, when the house resumed proceedings, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announced the suspension of Mr Mastikhel’s membership for the remainder of the current session following approval of a motion in this regard through a voice vote.
During his budget speech, Mr Mastikhel, the MNA from Bhakkar, addressed Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and said the opposition members had not reached the parliament by appeasing someone. While stressing this point, he used some “indecent” words, prompting a strong protest from the treasury benches.
