Provincial budget, the public response and the implementation – by Tasbeeh Fayaz Ali
Twitter homepages witnessed an alluvion of Budget related tweets as soon as the provincial budgets fiscal year 2013-14 were announced on 17-06-2013 with more heedfulness amassed by the KPK budget which started trending on the social networking site minutes after it was announced.
Critics from all over the country brought up the people friendly aspects of all the budgets and also those not exactly in favor of a common average citizen yet it was the KPK budget which despite of the lowest media coverage made its way to the trends.
The PTI-JI led KPK cabinet approved Rs 344 billion “tax-free” budget with Rs 66 billion allocated for the much neglected Education sector which set out a flare of ‘Naya KPK- Naya Pakistan’ tweets . Twitter users of Sindh and Punjab conveyed the impression of being technically more interested in what the PTI-JI coalition had proposed rather than thinking of what good would the budget of their respective provinces do to them. Again, this isn’t an asservated fact and I am neither a PTI nor a JI supporter/voter. Sindh and Punjab budgets were being analysed and criticized too but none heavily followed by party slogans and chants. Do consider the word ‘heavily’ again. Thankyou.
The immense public participation was simply a single thread out of the mesh. In the euphoria of nationwide change, one might be oblivious to the fact that not every promise is fulfilled. Not every rupee is handed down to the correct hand and not every word said in front of an audience is meant. First things first. I am not experienced enough to predict the fate of the promised billions and I am certainly not aware of how non corrupt is the PTI-JI driven government machinery. I am neither against a certain political force nor in a favour of criticizing any unnecessarily. I care.
I care for the hundreds of passion driven supporters of tehreek e Insaaf who have been introduced to the dream of a bubble like corruption free and terrorism free Pakistan _ a naya Pakistan. I don’t wish to see these hundreds of hearts sink to the bottom on not being given what they were promised. People around me have got immense expectations tied up with PTI with immense being an underestimation. I want to see these and all those who generously voted for their respective parties, despite of their shortcomings to get something in return.
No matter who the messiah is, this nation has had enough of rampant violence. People don’t want to sell their children just because they cannot feed them. Parents want to heave sigh of relaxation knowing that their kids are safe in the CNG run school vans. After all we have gone through; we deserve peace _ at last.
A last whole hearted word of good luck for the federal and the provincial governments to for once consider not toying with floods of emotions. I want to see those celebrating on streets right after the elections to keep on celebrating for the five years to come and I have a feeling, they will.