The National Assembly continued discussion on the budget for next fiscal year today (Wednesday).

Participating in the discussion, Minister of State for Climate Change, Zar Taj Gul said it is for the first time that ample resources have been earmarked for the construction of water reservoirs to overcome the shortage of water.

She said 118 billion rupees have been allocated for communications and from this amount mega projects will also be executed in South Punjab.

She said the government is giving special emphasis to deal with the issue of climate change.

Fazal Khan said no tax has been imposed in the budget to facilitate different segments of society during these testing times.  

Abdul Akbar Chitrali called for an interest-free financial system to take forward the country.

He said the salaries of government employees should be enhanced by ten to twenty percent keeping in view the current price hike.

Syed Hussain Tariq said the government should have allocated sufficient funds for the health sector to cope with Coronavirus challenge. He said provinces should also be supported in this endeavor.

Salahuddin said the government may not be able to achieve the targets set in the budget if the threat posed by Corona Virus did not subside. He said we all need to follow the Standard Operating Procedures to deal with the issue.

Malik Muhammad Ehsanullah Tiwana said the youth should be imparted with market based skills to harness their true potential in different sectors.  He said this skilled manpower can also be exported abroad to earn valuable foreign exchange.

The House has now been adjourned to meet again at 11 a.m. tomorrow.