[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]ISLAMABAD: An attempt by the PML-N and PPP to sort out their “differences” made some headway but was unsuccessful on Monday. Both sides are likely to sit together again today (Tuesday), as disagreements between the ruling party and its coalition partners over the federal budget continue to dominate discussion in the National Assembly.
The meeting took place at PM House, according to sources in both parties, although Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was absent.
Syed Khursheed Shah, Naveed Qamar, and Sherry Rehman made up the PPP delegation, while Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, and Economic Affairs Minister Ayaz Sadiq represented the PML-N.
According to sources, the PPP delegation expressed some of its concerns to PML-N members and urged that more funding be allocated for Sindh’s flood victims.
They claimed the PM had visited flood-affected areas and made a commitment to provide the necessary funding for the province’s flood-affected residents. However, they added, there were no money set aside in this regard in the budget for 2023–24.
Both parties will meet again today after reaching agreements on some issues during their meeting at PM House. Bilawal adopts a more upbeat demeanour; Dar declares that his partner has “nothing to worry about.”
According to sources, the government has agreed to donate Rs 25 billion to flood victims, but Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the PPP, must approve the choice.
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Following the discussion, it was determined that both parties would meet again today (Tuesday), with the government side informing the prime minister of the outcome and the PPP team informing Mr. Bhutto-Zardari of their choice.
Additionally, according to sources, the PPP asked that the general elections take place in November as planned.
The PPP chairman, who claimed that his party “had no differences” with the PML-N and was still a part of the coalition government, sounded much more upbeat in contrast
After Murtaza Wahab, the newly elected mayor of Karachi, took the oath of office, he told the media, “I hope to move politics forward under the Charter of Democracy and I don’t see any issue with the PML-N in the future as well.
The ‘Charter of Democracy’, which was signed by Benazir Bhutto, his mother, and Nawaz Sharif, will be carried forward, according to the PPP chairman.
Objectivity in NA
While this attempt at reconciliation was going on, PPP MNAs in the National Assembly were criticising the PML-N budget.
The comments made by some PML-N ministers against PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s address at a public meeting in Swat on Sunday were strongly reacted to by PPP MNA Qadir Khan Mandokhail. He said that they should not be required to respond to the PML-N in a way that is appropriate.
Dr. Shah defended her party’s chairman for speaking out against the withholding of cash for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Sindh’s flood-affected areas. She also criticised the government for the lack of gas and demanded that it inform the house in full regarding the importation of oil from Russia and LNG from Azerbaijan
In response, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that during a meeting on June 16 in Islamabad, the PPP leadership, including Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, had almost created a comprehensive “roadmap” to carry out reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the flood-affected areas.
Soon after Dr. Shah finished speaking, Mr. Dar said he wanted to clarify the criticism levelled at the government over the problem of funding for Sindh’s flood-affected areas.
He described the relief efforts that had already been made and asserted that the Benazir Income Support Programme had offered aid to flood victims.
In addition to the in-kind help provided by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), he claimed that approximately Rs100 billion had already been spent. In addition, he added, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) recently sanctioned Rs12 billion to restock the NDMA in consideration of the anticipated dangers from the monsoon and cyclone.
According to a thorough analysis done by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Union, and Ministry of Planning in collaboration with the UNDP, the total economic and material losses were estimated to be over $30.3 billion.
A medium-term development plan was necessary because the reconstruction and restoration would take four to five years to complete.
The minister stated that $16.3 billion would be needed to complete the physical tasks, including as repairing the infrastructure and destroyed homes. He assured the PPP that everything was under preparation and that work was already under progress, adding that approximately $11 billion of the $16.3 billion will be spent in Sindh. “There is nothing to worry about,” he remarked.
“I believe that all-out efforts should be made to prepare a CoE to help the country escape the situation in which it had become stuck once the budget [current budget session of the parliament] is done. He claimed that the current “quagmire” was worse than the one that the nation was in in 1998–1999 following the nuclear test, when it was subject to international sanctions.
However, the minister asserted that the national economy’s falling trend had stopped and had reached stability at this point.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
