ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Monday said the government should have increased salaries of public sector employees in federal budget 2020-21.

“Unemployment is multiplying, millions of people are being jobless every day. The public sector employees should have been taken care of in such economic crisis,” Khawaja Asif said while speaking at the National Assembly in reaction to the fresh budget of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

He said the gross domestic product (GDP) growth was at 5.5 percent in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s era which had slumped to more than -2 percent now.

Also Read: Govt announced relief budget for masses: Abdul Hafeez Shaikh

The PML-N leader reminded Prime Minister Imran Khan that he had claimed that that he would die rather than taking loan, so he should at least attempt committing suicide to fulfill his promise. He said the PM had also said that he would hold Sahiwal incident culprits accountable but the promise could not be fulfilled so far.

“The government is retreating on economic fronts. It has acknowledged its economic defeat. But, we will follow them to the last resort,” he said.

On Jun 13, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh had said that the government had announced a relief budget as no new tax was imposed, but taxes and duties were either waived entirely from certain things or cut.

The PM’s advisor had said this in a post budget press conference in Islamabad. He was flanked by Ministor for Industries Hammad Azhar and Advisor to PM on Poverty Sania Nishtar.

Recounting the challenges faced by the government since its inception, he had said the government faced acute shortage of dollar reserves when it came into power.