ISLAMABAD: Law makers in the Senate on Tuesday called upon the government to take concrete steps for controlling price hike, alleviate poverty and create employment opportunities for poor people in the country.
Speaking on an adjournment motion, the members mentioned to various social evils that were only due to poverty and urged the government to more focus on measures that help alleviate poverty from the country.
Senator Azam Swati said the government is yet to fulfil its commitment to provide basic amenities to poor in the country on affordable prices. “Rich in the country evade tax and the government affairs are being run on the tax collected from salaries of the government employees and from poor in the country in the name of sales tax and other taxes”, he said.
He claimed that commodities, edibles, fruits and vegetables and medicines prices have increased and urged that the government should reconsider its priorities to benefit the poor.
He said if the government employees are benefited from increase in salaries, this impact is nullified by price hike and end of the day, the employees are left with no money to improve their living standard.
Swati claimed that one thirds of the total population is living below the poverty line and sincere efforts were needed to ameliorate their lot.
Senator Sirajul Haq said the private sector violate the government’s decisions made in the budget regarding monthly salary of the employees. “Poor in the country are leading miserable life and the state is yet to ensure education, health and employment facilities”, he said.
He said every fourth person in the country is suffering from depression and problems like terror, poverty and insecurity are ruining the mental health of our nation.
Senator Ateeq Sheikh said the government could not effectively move against the business cartels as rich and capitalists are fleecing either poor farmers or small businessmen and salaries class. He said the divide between the rich and the poor is widening and those falling below the poverty line would be forced to snatching, grabbing and robbery.
He demanded effective steps to protect rights of consumers who are always a victim to exploitive ambitions of the capitalists. Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini called for enhancing production, curbing corruption and fully utilize natural resources in the country for socio-economic uplift of the people.
He said over the decades the politicians and the policy makers have been clamoring for the rights of the poor and every time when any party comes into powers it forgets its commitment to the poor. “And it is happening over the last seven decades and the time has come that concrete steps be taken instead of sheer lip servicing”.
He mentioned to lack of basic facilities for the poor like health, education, food, drinking water and other very basic needs and said, the situation is deteriorating and time is not far off when we will be serious problem. Senator Usman Kakar said the poor are losing confidence in the state as their rights are not protected against the business cartels and multi-nationals.
He said the business cartels are free to set commodities prices at their own will and there is no system to check this tendency.
He urged uniform distribution of wealth and taxes be collected judiciously more focusing the affluent, introduce subsidies for the poor and check price hike and adulteration. Senator Kamil Ali Agha said, the government should take steps to facilitate small farmers so the edibles could be produced indigenously instead of importing these goods.
He said the government should have also focused the needs of the poor when it was spending billions of rupees on the development projects.
Senator Javed Abbasi called for focusing the agriculture sector to alleviate poverty, control price hike and create employment opportunities for the neglected segment of society. He said there should not be criticism for the sake of criticism and those blaming the present government must also remember their tenure when there was 16 to 18 hours load shedding.
He mentioned to motorways, CPEC, ports development, power plants and incentives for students, business community and farmers. CPEC will ameliorate the lot of poor people and set the country on strong economic footing.
The Senator also called upon the provincial governments to their bit as national development it is collective responsibility. He said today industry is getting uninterrupted power and gas supply and time is not far off when there will be no load shedding in the country.
Senator Nihal Hashmi said, poor people only desire two times meal and a small house to reside and to resolve their problems is our collective responsibility. “Let us all do our bit instead of sheer criticism of any government. Poverty is a global phenomenon and every nation is striving for betterment of their people.”
He said successive government failed to provide health, education and mass transit projects while injustice had been rampant that had deprived poor from their rights.
He called for raising awareness among the consumers about their rights so we could develop a constructive society as he also reminded mass media of its responsibility to reform the society.
“If we love our country and have sympathy for the poor, we shall have to rise above party affiliation and collectively move forward to address this problem”, he said.
Senator Hafiz Hamdullah emphasized that most of problems confronting our people can be resolved by implementing Shariah and introducing Islamic economic system. He said the government and members can better learn about key to these problems from teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and style of governance by second Caliph Hazrat Omar (Allah be pleased with Him.)