ISLAMABAD: After over a two-week long debate, the National Assembly today (Tuesday) passed the federal budget with a total outlay of Rs 8.487 trillion, with around 19 percent additional allocations as compared to last year’s Rs 7.137 trillion.
The Finance Bill 2021-22 was moved before the parliament by Finance Minister, Shaukat Tarin, which was passed with majority vote. Some amendments in the bill proposed by the lawmakers were accommodated by the house, whereas some others were rejected.
The session was first chaired by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, after which Speaker Asad Qaiser presided over the session and Qasim Suri joined the members so he may become part of the total strength.
Prime Minister Imran Khan was present for today’s session, while former president Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari were also in attendance.
The Finance Bill 2021-22 was discussed clause by clause in the House. Amendments proposed by treasury members were accepted while those proposed by opposition members were rejected.
After the reading was completed, a voice vote was conducted by the NA speaker and the budget was passed. The opposition did not challenge the voice vote as they knew they did not have the required numbers.
The session was adjourned till Wednesday. The government had already defeated the opposition earlier on a motion moved by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin for taking up the bill under consideration with a majority — 172-138 — vote.
One of the amendments in the bill pertains to an added clause, under which MNAs will now be provided vouchers instead of air tickets. This amendment was met with no objection by the Opposition.
Earlier, Tarin strongly criticized opposition, saying that only food inflation had increased during the PTI government’s tenure and attributed this to the policies of past governments. He said that the government was focusing on the agriculture sector which had been ignored in the past.
“We are taking direct action, something that has never been done before,” he said, adding that the government was forced to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to the fiscal deficit it inherited when it came into power.
Speaking on the NA floor, PPP MNA Nafeesa Shah criticised the government’s budget measures, saying that the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) was being turned into another NAB (National Accountability Bureau).
She said that no one should allow the FBR to be given the powers of judge and jury, adding that some points in the budget were too vague to understand.
PML-N MNA Khurram Dastagir also lashed out at the government, saying that its proposed financial policies “target” the middle and poor classes. “The government will not be able to achieve its tax collection target next year,” he said.
