The newly proposed federal budget for the fiscal year 2024–25 has drawn severe criticism from Umar Ayub, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, who described it as useless and against constitutional standards.
Ayub, who has previously submitted four budgets to the National Assembly, expressed his worries to the media about the budget’s validity and contents.
“Neither a CD was provided nor the budget written in English, which is a first in this parliament,” he said, pointing to procedural concerns. He underlined how opaque and inaccurate the Finance Minister’s speech was in presenting her records.
The opposition leader completely rejected the budget, calling it a “fake budget by a fake government” and claiming that it underrepresents the actual growth rate of the nation.
He brought attention to the suffering of farmers in Punjab, saying that their wheat fields are burning and the government is doing nothing to stop it.
Ayub also took issue with the government’s assertions of industrial growth. “They say the industry is producing more, but where is this production coming from?” he said. He added that the public’s financial burden has increased due to the recent rise in power costs of Rs 3.50 per unit.
