ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling party this week vowed it would win over the support of its major coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on the federal budget before voting on it takes place, despite differences between the two over the key document.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb unveiled the much-awaited Rs18.877 trillion ($67.76 billion) federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 on Wednesday in parliament. The tax-heavy budget is expected to play a pivotal role in Pakistan’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a fresh financial assistance program with the global lender.
The PPP is a major coalition ally of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. A day before the budget was presented, the PPP accused the government of ignoring its recommendations for the annual document. The party initially announced it would boycott the budget session but later, a handful of its leaders attended it.
“We are a major coalition partner of the government but they completely ignored us in the pre-budget consultations and meetings,” PPP lawmaker Sehar Kamran told Arab News.
“Shehbaz Sharif’s government wants to use us as a rubber stamp in parliament to pass the budget but we won’t do it if our reservations are not addressed.”
Kamran said the government has proposed a tax-heavy budget without consulting the PPP, adding that there were also disagreements between the two parties over the distribution of development funds and various projects related to Pakistan’s provinces.
The PPP, which voted Sharif into power after the contentious national election in February, is not part of the federal government but has its government in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province. Sharif’s government needs PPP’s votes to pass the budget in parliament.
“If the government needs our votes in parliament to pass the budget, then it will have to listen to us first to address our grievances,” she said.
Aqeel Malik, a government spokesperson, admitted the “real issues” between the PPP and the PML-N were related to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for provinces.
However, he said the government cannot take all of the PPP’s suggestions into consideration regarding provinces where the party was not in government, such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab.
“In Sindh, we have consulted them there and there is absolutely no issue with regards to this,” Malik told Arab News, emphasizing that the government held meetings with the PPP leadership before finalizing the budget.
He said this was the reason why a few PPP leaders had attended the budget session symbolically.
“We have had meaningful consultation with them,” Malik explained. “We have taken them on board and we consulted them.”
The government is committed to resolving the PPP’s issues regarding the budget, Malik said, hoping the party would “come around” once voting takes place.
“If there is any tweaking in the budget with regards to their suggestions or recommendations, we will certainly consider them favorably and will try to include them before the voting takes place,” he said.
PM Sharif’s coordinator, Rana Ihsan Afzal, confirmed the government was ready to address the PPP’s reservations on the budget before it is voted upon.
“We are engaging with them [the PPP] thoroughly,” Afzal told Arab News.
As per media reports, the general debate on the budget will begin on June 20 while voting on it is expected to take place on June 24.
Amid differences, Pakistan’s ruling party vows to win major ally’s support on budget
https://arab.news/23gr6
Amid differences, Pakistan’s ruling party vows to win major ally’s support on budget
- Pakistan Peoples Party, a key government ally, has accused ruling party of ignoring its budget recommendations
- Will consider PPP’s recommendations “favorably” and try to include them in the budget before voting, says official
Pakistani migrant’s death in UAE shatters economic future of families back home
- Pakistani driver killed by falling debris during missile interception in Abu Dhabi amid escalating Middle East conflict
- Death leaves more than a dozen dependents in Pakistan without income after eight years of overseas work
ISLAMABAD: For days, Nazar Ali told his daughter-in-law a gentle lie: authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had confiscated all mobile phones and her husband, Mureeb Zaman, would call home as soon as he got it back.
In reality, Zaman, a 40-year-old Pakistani driver who had spent eight years working in the UAE to lift his family out of poverty, had already been killed by missile fragments during an aerial interception over Abu Dhabi amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The conflict began on Feb. 28 after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran following weeks of escalating tensions between Tehran and its regional adversaries. The attacks triggered retaliatory drone and missile strikes by Iran targeting commercial and US-linked interests across the Gulf region, prompting air defense systems in several countries to intercept projectiles in the skies above major cities.
As interceptors met incoming missiles over the Emirati capital that night, falling debris struck Zaman, ending years of work he hoped would secure a better future for his five children in one of Pakistan’s most volatile regions.
“I found out the same day because nowadays it is the age of the Internet,” Ali, Zaman’s father, told Arab News during a condolence gathering at his residence last week.
“I myself was in the market at that time when I received the news [of his death], but I did not tell the family.”
Zaman had been supporting three households in his hometown in Pakistan’s northwestern Bannu district, including the family of his late younger brother. The region, located in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border, has witnessed a surge in militancy and counterinsurgency operations in recent years.
The 40-year-old was one of millions of Pakistani migrant workers in Gulf countries whose remittances are a vital source of foreign exchange for Pakistan’s fragile economy.
He is also among the first reported Pakistani casualties of the recent escalation. Two Pakistani nationals have been killed so far in aerial interceptions in the UAE, while another Pakistani died last week in a similar incident in Iranian waters off Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, according to authorities.
Zaman’s life abroad was measured in long-distance phone calls and carefully saved earnings, while his wife, four daughters and one son lived in a single room at their family home in Bannu.
“He used to say that ‘When I come on Eid, God willing, I will build a room for you’,” Ali, his grieving father, said.
For Zaman, working in the UAE represented an escape from the insecurity and economic hardship that have long plagued his hometown, where militant attacks targeting security forces and civilians have periodically disrupted daily life.
Family members said he had hoped to return home for the upcoming Eid Al-Fitr holiday, encouraged by military operations against militant groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that had raised hopes of greater stability in the region.
Adnan Gul, Zaman’s nephew, remembered his uncle as a warm and optimistic man who often spoke about building a better future for his family.
“His wish was to have a good home, a settled family, and a good, peaceful life,” Gul said.
Recalling Zaman as a cheerful man who loved food and rarely lost his temper, Gul added: “With younger people he behaved like one of them, and with elders he behaved like an elder.”
“He had many wishes, but unfortunately all those wishes remained unfulfilled.”
Now, Zaman’s death has left his extended family facing an uncertain future.
Relatives fear the loss of his income could disrupt the education of his children, who attend school while also memorizing the Holy Qur’an.
“He used to say these things and tell me ‘Not to tire yourself too much because you have already done a lot of hard work’,” Ali, his father, said, his voice trailing off.
“But such a day came that Allah Almighty once again left us [helpless], and we don’t know what will happen next.”
Buried in his hometown, Zaman is remembered through the photographs he shared with family members on WhatsApp and the Eid gifts he had already purchased before his death.
“When a person leaves this world, only memories remain,” Gul said.
