Shahbaz Sharif accuses govt of releasing 'fake' budget numbers

• Shahbaz address NA session amid ruckus from treasury benches.
• PML-N president takes jibes at PM Imran Khan during speech. 
• Sherry Reman expresses reservations over plans to hike price of petroleum products.

ISLAMABAD: PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif hit out at the government Monday, accusing it of deceiving masses by disclosing "fake" numbers in the budget. 

The leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly was speaking on the federal budget issued by the government a few days ago, lamenting that the poor were suffering from poverty while the government claimed it was on the path to economic growth and prosperity. 

"If the country has seen growth, has only the elite and those residing in the palaces of Bani Gala availed that prosperity?" the Opposition leader asked amid ruckus from the treasury benches.

The PML-N president said poor people were starving to death in the country. Taking a jibe at the prime minister, Sharif said he wished those who gave examples of Riyasat-e-Madinah would pay heed to the dismal affairs of the "widows, orphans and the destitute". 

Members of the Opposition, along with the PML-N president as well, thumped their desks as PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif attended the session for the first time since securing bail in a case filed against him for allegedly inciting people against state institutions.

Meanwhile, PPP leader Senator Sherry Reman said her party had reservations over the government's plans to hike the price of petroleum products. 

The PPP leader said it was a joint plan of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the federal government. 

"Explain the intention behind proposing an increase in petrol prices only three days after presenting the budget?," she asked, adding that the government had dropped a petrol bomb on the people to overcome the petrol levy crisis.

Rehman said the people of Pakistan were already reeling from the inflation, adding that the government had "gifted" them with an additional hike in petroleum prices. 

Opposition Leader in the Senate Yousaf Raza Gillani, addressing on the floor of the NA, said during his tenure, the government had empowered Gilgit Baltistan through establishing a government of elected representatives there.

"When we pitched the idea of South Punjab, we were termed as insincere," he said, adding PPP had passed the resolution in the Punjab Assembly to establish South Punjab.

Gillani called on the incumbent government to fulfill its promises in establishing South Punjab province, as PPP had called for the creation of a province, and not a mere secretariat.

The PPP leader slammed the government for "testing" tear gas on government employees' protest and demanded that their salaries be increased in proportion to the inflation.

He highlighted that during PPP's tenure, the government had revived the jobs of several governments.