Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed reservations over the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s plans to pass the Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill 2019 through the National Assembly.
Calling it a “true test” for National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Bilawal said in a Twitter post that he has heard the PTI “plans to bulldoze finance bill through the National Assembly without any debate.”
“True test for Speaker, will he act like a PTI worker and allow for violation of NA rules or will he conduct his duties properly and maintain the dignity of his office and the house?” the PPP leader questioned.
The National Assembly is yet to pass the Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill 2019, commonly known as the "mini-budget", which was presented by Finance Minister Asad Umar on January 23.
Salient features of the mini-budget include reduced taxes on agricultural loans, provision of low-income housing, introduction of Rs5 billion revolving fund for interest-free loans, elimination of withholding tax for filers on banking transactions, among others.