Lahore theatre comedians… you’ve got competition

To liken the buffoonery witnessed during finance minister Hafeez Shaikh’s budget speech in the parliament to the jugatbaazi-laced cheap comedy that theatres in Lahore have resorted to in recent times wouldn’t be wrong.

A disconcerted finance minister somehow managed to deliver his budget speech despite the bedlam in the House.

Female opposition lawmakers had bangles to offer to the finance minister and a PML-N leader showed a roti to the prime minister.

One could have expected the opposition members to be carrying rotten eggs and tomatoes too, but the finance minister must be thanking his lucky stars that they weren’t.

Our parliamentarians have certainly come up with quite a feast for the eyes and ears of the world… if there are still people left on the planet not ridiculing or censuring every Pakistani for the follies of a few, then a show of pathetic antics in the parliament would certainly finish the job and let the world know that with such uncouth representatives, the country’s masses must be yahoos as well.

In a speech that fortunately lasted only about 50 minutes, the finance minister had nothing to say out of the ordinary. The new budget has nothing much to offer but more woes for the masses.
It wasn’t a surprise that the government decided not to bring the farm sector into the tax net. That is unlikely to happen when most of the lawmakers are chaudhrys and waderas. It’s like setting the wolf to guard the sheep. Landlords making policies that are meant to protect the rights of peasants and mill owners formulating laws to benefit consumers? Silly it may be, but that’s how it is in our parliament.
The finance minister said that the government will try to maintain growth at seven percent and inflation will be brought down to single digits. Good luck with that… he will surely need it. The armed forces will gobble up most of the budget as usual, 11.4 percent more this time. They have a few more wedding halls and golf clubs to construct. After all, it is very essential for the national security that they do. It earns them money. More money means happier generals, colonels, brigadiers etc. Then in their happy moods, they will pompously claim that they are prepared to take on any challenge and the masses will believe them… until an attack like the one on PNS Mehran spoils the party.