ISLAMABAD: Two days after the US House of Representatives passed a resolution seeking probe into the alleged irregularities in the Feb 8 elections, the government on Thursday declared its intent to pay the US in the same coin.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, speaking in the National Assembly, disclosed that a resolution in response to the one passed by the US would be placed before the House.

“We must show our sovereignty. We must show our unity. We must show we mean business,” he remarked.

Mr Dar, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, said Pakistan can also criticise other countries for multiple things, but it refrains from doing so. He said mutual respect and dignity required that “they reciprocate what we do”. He said a draft resolution was ready and would be shared with parliamentary leaders from both sides of the aisle.

Budget 2024-25 set to be passed today

“…We must come in unity with a clear resolution against the US resolution.”

He pointed out that the Foreign Office had reacted within hours of the passage of the US resolution. Reading out from the FO statement, he said the resolution stemmed from an “incomplete understanding” of the country’s political situation and electoral process.

About the right to vote for overseas Pakistanis, the deputy PM said the government was ready for it. “Let’s make a constitutional amendment. Let’s come together,” he said.

However, Mr Dar noted that it would make no sense if the overseas Pakistanis were “used” to vote in different constituencies while sitting abroad.

“Let’s give them representation in the two houses. Let there be a voice of those people. Let’s consider it. The government is open. Let’s sit together in a candid way to bring a constitutional amendment”.

He took a dig at critics of economic stability and those who believe the country is in a debt trap. Pakistan’s external liabilities were not more than $130 billion while the country was blessed with over $10,000bn assets, he added.

“Pakistan has the potential to come out of the quagmire soon,” he remarked. The deputy premier said that the Special Investment Facilita­tion Council (SIFC) had been set up to create a one-window operation for investors. About the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, he said global and US sanctions were a major hurdle in its way.

Rejecting the impression that Pakistan faces isolation internationally, he reminded the House that Pakistan was recently elected as the UN Security Council’s non-permanent member, showing the global community’s trust in the incumbent government.

Responding to a point raised by a member about relations with Afghanistan, he said: “Afghanistan will remain on our priority agenda”. He said Pakistan was in contact with the Afghan government and dates were being worked out for his visit to Kabul.

Passage of budget

The National Assembly is set to pass the budget for the next fiscal year on Friday (today) as it completed the process of approving all 133 demands for grants of 40 ministries and divisions worth over Rs8.88 trillion after rejecting all cut motions of opposition members on seven selected ministries.

The demands for grants worth Rs6.16tr for 33 ministries and divisions had been approved without cut motions while those relating to seven ministries and divisions had been approved on Wednesday and Thursday after rejecting the cut motions.

The National Assembly on Thursday also passed 12 demands for additional grants relating to four ministries and divisions and departments under their administrative control.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2024