Charter of Economy possible with PTI: Shehbaz Sharif.

ISLAMABAD -- Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday said Charter of Economy (CoE) was possible with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government in supreme national interest.

In his budget speech on floor of the National Assembly, Shehbaz said on very first day of this Parliament he had offered that like Charter of Democracy, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was prepared for CoE with PTI, but his sincere efforts were rejected.

On this, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser asked whether it (CoE) could still be discussed?. In reply, Shehbaz said 'it's never too late...it is for Pakistan,' adding any charter could be signed for Pakistan, but it needed sincerity and seriousness.

He said members from both sides of the aisle in the Parliament should play their positive role to make the national economy stronger, saying a collective strategy was required. The speaker assured to play his role in this regard.

It is to mention that the government and opposition agreed to start debate on the federal budget and finally Leader of the Opposition started it following three days of ruckus in the National Assembly.

Shehbaz Sharif said that PML-N was inherited power crisis when it came into power during 2013 through votes of the people. There had been days when there was no electricity for 20 hours in a day but this crisis was overcome through hard work, he maintained.

He also spoke about the cooperation of brotherly countries with Pakistan including China. He said that China invested 60 billion dollars through CPEC in the country while 11,000 megawatt electricity was generated during the tenure of PML-N.

He said the people have great expectations from this budget but they got nothing from it. "Whenever a budget was presented, some segments were happy, others were unhappy. This is the first instance that the poor are strongly protesting," alleged the opposition leader.

He also spoke about the economic situation of the country and said that dollar rate went very much high against the Pakistani rupee. Prices of edibles have got increased while environment for industrialists is also challenging, he added.

About Neelum-Jhelum Hydro power project, he said that its actual cost got increased from 800 million dollar to 5 billion dollars during the tenure of former President Pervez...