ISLAMABAD: Approval of federal budget 2020-21 is going to be a final showdown between the PTI government and the opposition.
Both made desperate attempts in the federal capital to achieve their respective goals. The ruling party is leaving no stone unturned till presenting the budget in National Assembly to get its clearance as it knows well the consequences otherwise.
So Prime Minister Imran Khan held meeting with his allies to make sure that the government gets required number to get the budget approved. To go an extra mile for support, the prime minister hosted a dinner for political allies in the parliament. It however did not work well as PML-Q, a major partner of the government did not turn up for the dinner.
This new but not unexpected development raised many questions for the PTI government. The political pundits are of the view that staying away of PML-Q from the prime minister’s dinner is of far -reaching effect and it goes beyond the budget. I think after losing support of PML-Q, the PTI government will weaken in coming days, Qamar Cheema, a political analyst said.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties had a joint sitting in Islamabad to discuss the budget 2020-21 and other political issues. After the sitting. It issued a joint declaration at a press conference. The declaration stated, “The opposition rejects the federal budget 2020-21 in totality and demands mid -term general elections in the country”.
The declaration further said, “The PTI government has caused irreparable loss to the country and its further stay in office will be devastating for the people and country. The political pundits are of the view even if federal budget sails through the National Assembly, the recent developments like poor strategy of coping with deadly Covid-19 has weaken the PTI government.
The government side, however, tried to undermine the opposition claims and called its demand of mid-term general elections as a non-serious
| Political Parties | National Assembly Seats |
| Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) | 116 |
| Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) | 64 |
| Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) | 43 |
| Independents | 13 |
| Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) | 12 |
| Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) | 6 |
| Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) | 4 |
| Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) | 2 |
| Awami Muslim League Pakistan (AMLP) | 1 |
| Awami National Party (ANP) | 1 |
| Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) | 4 |
| Balochistan National Party (BNP) | 3 |
business and rejected it. The minister in a thirdly called press conference claimed the government has required numbers to get passed the budget from parliament for the next fiscal year.
Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz seemed more confident at the press conference. He said the opposition will have nothing to say when the budget will sail through the National Assembly in its presence.