KARACHI: The discussion on Rs1.47 trillion provincial budget for fiscal year 2021-22 that entered its fifth day on Wednesday was extended for another day with the consent of treasury and opposition parties to facilitate maximum number of lawmakers so that they could forward their suggestions and proposals for development works in their respective constituencies.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, which had not attended the discussion in the last four sittings, staged a strong protest after the party’s parliamentary leader Kanwar Naveed Jameel rejected the budget saying there was nothing for the urban parts of the province.

He registered his protest against the provincial government for “ruthlessly ignoring” Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah in the provincial budget.

Ongoing budget debate is extended for another day

Ending his party’s four-day boycott of the budget discussion, Kanwar Naveed delivered his speech, emerging as the only lawmaker restricting himself to the budget among the 77 lawmakers who spoke on the budget.

‘Liaquatabad gives more tax than Lahore’

He said that just one area of Karachi, Liaquatabad, paid more tax than the whole of Lahore, but not even a “single rupee scheme” was allocated for the locality in the budget.

“The then health minster belonging to MQM had approved schemes for establishment of medical colleges in Korangi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas but the same could not be built even after 10 years,” he lamented.

He said: “At least 40 per cent of amount collected from Karachi should be spent for betterment of its citizens while remaining 60pc be given to interior parts of Sindh for development.”

He said that the provincial government had decided not to provide education and other facilities to the people of urban areas no matter how much tax they pay.

While rejecting the budget, the MQM-P leader said: “This is not our budget and we request Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah not to trouble the people of Karachi and Hyderabad or else we would be compelled to say this assembly is not ours too.”

After his speech, the MQM-P lawmakers started protesting and gathered in front of the rostrum of the speaker who had to adjourn the house for 10 minutes.

The MQM-P continued their protest even after resumption of the sitting as they sat on the floor and kept chanting ‘Karachi ko pani do’ and ‘Go corruption go’ slogans during the speeches of PPP lawmakers. They, however, did not interrupt the speeches by other opposition parties.

‘49pc of govt schools without toilet’

Firdous Shamim Naqvi of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf said in his speech that the education sector was destroyed in Sindh.

He said that there were over 42,000 schools across the province and 49pc of them were without toilets.

He said that 42pc schools did not have the facility of drinking water, and there was only one teacher in 49pc schools.

“The infant mortality rate is higher in the province. The chief minister says that there are schemes of Rs109 billion for Karachi but the same are not visible in the budget books,” he said.

PPP’s Saleem Baloch said the MQM-P did not acknowledge the uplift work carried out in Karachi by the Sindh government.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2021