Shah rejects ‘unconstitutional’ budget in NA speech

ISLAMABAD: Opposition leader Syed Khurshid Shah has rejected the sixth fiscal budget 2018-19 unveiled by the PML-N government on April 27.

“We consider it (budget) unconstitutional and reject it,” said Shah while taking part in the budget’s debate the in National Assembly on Wednesday.

“The budget is prepared in a way it benefits the country and the people. If you keep borrowing from here and there, it’s not going to work,” he said.

The opposition leader warned that giving a special preference to one province in the budget would aggravate the situation.

“The incumbent government wasn’t mandated to present the budget for one year. If you don’t respect the mandate, we may soon reach a point of no return,” he added.

Amidst the most rowdy audience, newly appointed Finance Minister Miftah Ismail had presented the sixth-full term budget under the PML-N government last Friday. 

The Rs5,932.5bn budget represented a ten percent increase in spending from last year.

The opposition tore copies of the budget in an attempt to unsettle the new finance minister.