ISLAMABAD: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai on Thursday urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif to “patch up differences” for the sake of democracy in the country.

“Democracy in Pakistan can survive only if both Sharifs are on the same page,” said Achakzai, speaking on the floor of the National Assembly.

Commenting on the Finance Bill 2014 containing the annual budget statement, the PkMAP chief said that the government should send a message to the international world that its political and military leadership is on the same page.

“It is also imperative that we show to the world that both (military and political) leadership are on the same page and that they believe in democracy,” he said.

Achakzai said that the international community should provide the moral and financial support to the democratic government in Pakistan.

“The government should invite all the political forces for an All Parties Conference (APC) to make a joint front to secure democracy in this regard,” he suggested.

Achakzai said that a democratic alliance is necessary to counter non-political forces which he said are actively conspiring against the democratic system.

“Democracy is the best system for the governance of any country,” he said.

He said that the government should arrest the chief of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Dr Tahirul Qadri, who he said is involved in conspiracies against the government and the democracy.

“No one will welcome such individuals who don’t have respect for the parliament and the constitution of Pakistan,” he added.

The PkMAP chief also requested the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to avoid rallies and gatherings against the rigging in the general elections of 2013.

“Imran should focus on better governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the welfare of the common people,” he suggested.

He also said that he did not take any kind of advantage from any government during his entire political career, and that he was ready to resign if anyone provides evidence against him in this regard.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Shazia Marri said that the federal government had failed to address the problems of the common people in the budget of next fiscal year.

She said that the people were suffering due to the ongoing load shedding and terrorism across the country.

“Is it possible for anyone to manage their family’s budget in Rs12,540?” she questioned.

Marri said that the annual budget reflects the economic road map and the vision of any government but the present administration was unable to provide any assistance to poor people of the country.

“The government allocated Rs 6.2 million for the prime minister’s house in the last budget but it has so far spent Rs41 million,” she claimed.

She said that the government should consider the recommendations of the members of the opposition parties seriously.

She also said that the government has introduced 3G technology in the country but it was still unable to unblock YouTube which has been banned since 2011.

Later, members of different parties, including PPP MNA Azra Afzal, PTI MNA Ayesha Gulalai, PML-N MNA Mian Abdul Manan, PML-N MNA Marvi Memon, JI MNA Sahibzada Tariq Ullah, and the PML-N MNA Parveen Masood participated in the budget discussion.

The members of the opposition expressed their concerns on the high inflation rate and said that the government had failed to provide relief to common people in the budget of 2014-15.

Earlier, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar told the National Assembly that the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan were expected to cross the existing limit of $14 billion before June 30, 2014.