KARACHI: Lashing out at the government after introduction of the Federal Budget 2016-17 by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar last week, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed that this budget has been designed to break the federation.

“We reject one unit budget for Punjabistan,” he stated in a message posted on Twitter, signalling that the budget was too focused on the province of Punjab and other provinces were not given equal importance.

“Seems this budget has been designed to break the federation. We reject one unit budget for Punjabistan” he tweeted.

Opposition parties have already rejected the budget and termed it as a jugglery of words.

Soon after the budget was presented in the National Assembly last Friday, Leader of Opposition in National Assembly (NA) Syed Khurshid Shah rejected it, stating that it is not ‘public friendly’.

Jamaat Islami (JI) leader Sirajul Haq, commenting upon the budget, stated that it has only made death affordable for the poor.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the speech made by Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was disappointing, adding that stories made in the past were repeated. Awami Muslim League (AML) leader Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad stated that the Finance Minister presented wrong statistics before the people.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Farooq Sattar also termed the budget as disappointing. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhary Parvez Elahi said that labourers, traders and individuals belonging to other sectors shall suffer from the budget, further stating that the announcements made will not please the farmers as there is need for practical measures.