[:en]The Tribune Int’l Staff
LAHORE: Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, addressing the National Assembly today said that it was an emotional moment for her to address the House that her grandparents, parents and brother have been a part of.
Bibi Aseefa said that she is grateful to Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, President Asif Ali Zardari, the senior leadership of the PPP and especially the residents of Nawabshah and the Jiyalas of the PPP who gave her the opportunity to represent them. She said that we find ourselves in yet another challenging situation. This year, the government presents its budget as the country is facing unprecedented unemployment, inflation, poverty, climate change and other catastrophes. We all, as citizens of this fine country had hopes and aspirations for this budget.
Addressing the Speaker of the National Assembly, Bibi Aseefa said that we envisioned a budget that had the needs of the people of Pakistan at its core. A budget prioritising the welfare of our farmers, labourers and working class was the need of the hour. We needed a budget that did not seek to benefit large corporations at the expense of the most vulnerable in our society, a budget which provided relief and redirected subsidies to the poor, farmers, labourers and the working class. We needed a budget that did not wish to make the rich, richer and the poor, poorer. We desired a budget which sought to lessen the gap of wealth inequality.
Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari asked the Speaker whether the budget sitting before him truly incorporated the objectives that had been raised and if this is the budget that the people of Pakistan deserve. “The people of Pakistan deserve better Mr. Speaker, and we must work together to do better for our citizens”, Bibi Aseefa said. She said that in his recent address to the Parliament, the honourable President of Pakistan spoke on unity. That is the need of the hour at a time when divisive politics threatens to harm our nation, when the people are polarised in their ideals, beliefs and actions, when differences are weaponised and disagreements are settled with violence, it is imperative that we as elected members of this House rise above. Words like tolerance and acceptance must not be limited to speeches alone and we must practice what we attempt to preach. Together, we must reject the divisive politics. We must instead come together for the people and base our policies on their needs.
Together, we have to find a way to give relief to the people who are suffering fifteen hours a day without electricity in this sweltering heat. Load-shedding for more than fifteen hours in this heat is torture. We must find ways to help the farmer who nurtures his crop only to lose it in the floods, and who cannot find a buyer even when he has a harvest. We must strengthen the farmer who faces floods, storms and wrong decisions such as that of importing wheat. We must find ways to help the blue collared workers who have no job security, Bibi Aseefa said. She said that we must find ways to develop our human capital and provide relief directly to the poorest of the poor in this country. Only then, would we be doing justice to the work for which they have elected us for.
Bibi Aseefa expressed her hope to witness a new age and beginning in politics, which allows for us to work together for the prosperity and progress of the country and its citizens.[:]