Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Prof. Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said that discussions on the federal budget 2026-27 should be based on facts rather than misrepresentations.
Responding to points raised by former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser during the budget debate in the National Assembly, Ahsan Iqbal accused the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of undermining democratic norms during its tenure.
He alleged that during the PTI government, production orders for detained members of parliament were often withheld despite repeated requests from opposition lawmakers.
“We witnessed a time when opposition members had to plead for the issuance of production orders for arrested parliamentarians, yet those orders were not issued,” he said.
Referring to PTI’s criticism of the judiciary, Ahsan Iqbal said the former government failed to implement Supreme Court orders for nine months after local governments were restored in Punjab. He also accused the PTI administration of politically victimising opposition leaders through what he termed fabricated cases.
He said several leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Hamza Shehbaz and Rana Sanaullah, had faced imprisonment during that period.
Ahsan Iqbal also highlighted development initiatives in Swabi, the constituency represented by Asad Qaiser, saying the federal government had established a university there and that he had personally laid its foundation stone. Earlier, Asad Qaiser criticised the federal budget, saying it failed to provide relief to the masses.
He reiterated PTI’s willingness to engage in dialogue on a charter of economy and called for the formation of an election commission acceptable to all political stakeholders.
He said his party supported judicial independence and a stronger parliament and urged political forces to work together to strengthen democratic institutions.
Highlighting issues facing his constituency, Qaiser said that around 70 per cent of the country’s tobacco production originated from his region.
Referring to electricity shortages, he said that despite the generation of 6,418 megawatts of electricity from Tarbela Dam, residents of the surrounding areas continued to face up to 12 hours of load-shedding daily.
He maintained that communities living in areas where electricity is generated should be given priority access to power and stressed the need for an independent parliament that genuinely represents the people.