Special emphasis on the welfare of needy in upcoming budget: Awan

Addressing a press conference with the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability today, Sunday Firdous Ashiq Awan reiterated the long standing government stance of ‘zero tolerance’ towards the corrupt and clarifying on speculations and rumors upon the upcoming budget, ARY News reported.

The Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the government had set priorities for the upcoming budget and those spreading speculative rumors and badmouthing the sincere efforts being made by the government to stabilize the economy are doing a disservice to the nation.

Expanding upon the details of the budget Awan said: “Those willing to voluntarily declare assets must do so before June 30. The Federal Budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 will be announced on June 11.”

Talking about the opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif’s comeback to his native land of Pakistan after an extensive London trip which was taken to tend to the PML-N president’s ailing health.

Awan said: “Shehbaz Sharif is on a leisure trip to Pakistan.”

Getting back to the budget Awan said that the Prime Minister of the country has directed the economic team to put special emphasis on taking care of and providing for the needy and poor strata of the population.

Awan said that the government has tried it’s utmost to keep the budget people-friendly.

“The salient features of the budget will be presented during the economic survey,” Awan added.

The adviser for information and broadcasting  further revealed that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan will present the priorities for economic stability in the country soon.

Awan claimed that the federal budget will be a direct reflection of their election manifesto.

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Elaborating on the recent voluntary budget initiative by the Pakistan Armed Forces and refraining from a budget increase in the armed forces budget for the fiscal year, Awan said that the Military has not asked for a budget increase and that money will be directed to development and prosperity of Balochistan and the tribal regions.

Taking note of the recent miscreant activities in the tribal district Awan said that some powers are trying to destabilize the peace efforts being undertaken by the government and the armed forces and also trying to hinder development initiatives in the region.

“People of the tribal region have laid down their lives and fought for peace, the Martyrs of the Armed forces and civilians are an asset to Pakistan,” stressed Awan.

Talking about the Waziristan Attack which took place in the recent past and involved members of the current parliamentary setup Awan said: “We strongly condemn the Waziristan incident, we will not let the sacrifice of the martyrs go in vain.”

Switching topics to her recent defamation lawsuit against PNML-N stalwart Rana SanaUllah, Awan said that the opposition leader is perhaps unknown to the sanctity of the word ‘sister’.

She said that personal attacks in politics do not set a good precedent and only issues should be a topic of discussion rather than attempts at character assassination and mudslinging.

Touching upon the opposition gearing up for an apparent campaign against the government and it’s policies soon, Awan said that protest was a due right which the opposition was entitled to but anarchy in the name of protest will not be tolerated and consequences will follow if that is the case.