Opposition staged protest, chants slogans against govt budget session

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - When Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin took the floor of the National Assembly for presenting federal budget 2021-2022, opposition members staged a protest and chanted slogans against the government.

The finance minister was greeted by jeers from Opposition benches, with members shouting slogans and taunting the finance minister by laughing loudly as he praised PM Imran Khan's economic initiatives.

Tarin was marred by the chaotic environment as opposition members chant slogans to interrupt him. As he spoke, Opposition members continued to bang desks and shouted slogans of "Go Niazi Go!" as the minister spoke.

Many of them chanted slogans against the government, while many held placards criticising the budget.

The finance minister is interrupted by Speaker Asad Qaiser as he urges opposition lawmakers to observe silence and the women MNAs in the Parliament to sit down. "I would request all members to remain in their seats," he said, as the Opposition lawmakers continued to thump their desks and shout slogans against the government.

The finance minister continued the budget speech despite the troubling noise of the opposition members.

LASHES OUT AT PREVIOUS GOVT

Shaukat Tarin lashed out at the previous governments, saying that a mountain of circular debt amounting to Rs1 trillion was inherited by the current government due to the botched policies of its predecessor.

"We made the [capacity] payments otherwise the country would have defaulted," he said. "I am presenting you the real picture of the nation and to highlight our performance," he added.

"Never in our economic history, were poor people able to realise their dreams," he said, adding that PM Imran Khan wanted to uplift the poor.

Tarin said Pakistan had become a food deficient nation, thanks to the policies of the previous governments. "We will have to become a food sufficient nation and for this, we will have to provide lots of incentives to farmers," he said. "We will need to bring back administrative controls which were removed during the Musharraf era," he added.

Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin presented pro-people, business friendly and growth oriented federal budget for fiscal year 2021-22 with a total outlay of 8,487 billion rupees.#Budget2021 #عوامی_ترقیاتی_بجٹ pic.twitter.com/mLalhWrOPA

— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) June 11, 2021

The National Assembly session has been adjourned to meet again on Monday, June 14, at 4pm.