The seven-day budget debate in the National Assembly (NA) concluded with active participation from 232 lawmakers, according to Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Ayaz Sadiq said that 151 members from the treasury benches and 81 opposition lawmakers took part in the debate, reflecting broad participation from both sides of the aisle during discussions on the federal budget.
Overall, lawmakers spoke on the budget for 53 hours and 31 minutes. Government members accounted for 34 hours and 33 minutes of debate, while opposition members spoke for 18 hours and 58 minutes.
Ayaz Sadiq further informed the House that 77 members from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), 49 from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and 20 from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) participated in the discussions.
On the opposition side, 67 members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), one member of the Sunni Ittehad Council, and 10 members of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) took part in the debate. He noted that the opposition was given 8 hours and 18 minutes more than its allocated speaking time.
Concluding the budget debate, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told the House that several proposals put forward by National Assembly members had been incorporated into the budget.
Earlier, speaking during the budget discussion, PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the seven per cent salary increase announced for government employees is insufficient given the current inflationary pressures. He urged the government to raise salaries by at least ten per cent to provide meaningful relief to employees.
Ashraf also called for greater political consensus on economic issues, emphasising that all political parties should work together to develop a long-term strategy for the country’s economic stability and reduce reliance on foreign borrowing.
He further stressed the importance of encouraging investment from overseas Pakistanis, noting that such investments could boost economic activity and create employment opportunities across the country.
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