MUZAFFARABAD: The coalition government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Wednesday approved the next fiscal year`s budget within 24 hours of its presentation, relying on its numerical strength amid a walkout by the tiny opposition.

Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, during a strategy session on Monday evening, had garnered support from his council of ministers comprising members from PPP, PML-N and PTI renegades for approving the budget in a single day, as was done the previous year.

However, the government had to revise its plan afterfacing strong resistance from senior PML-N and PPP leaders, including PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir, former premier Raja FarooqHaider, PPP regional president Chaudhry Yasin, and Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar.

Sources revealed to Dawn that these leaders did not hold back in expressing their resentment towards the government`s plan and threatened to boycott the session. Mr Akbar even declared to a group of cabinet members seeking his support that he would rather not preside over the session than allow the budget to be approved the same day.

Despite this, on the government`s insistence, he suspended the rules requiring a two-day gap for initiating the budget debate and scheduled the session for Wednesday.

Ironically, when an opposition lawmaker arrived at the Assembly secretariat on Tuesday evening to submit cut motions, he found that the secretary who is related to thepremier had already issued the agenda for Wednesday`s sitting.

On Wednesday, the budget debate was opened by leader of the opposition Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, who belongs to the PTI, followed by the party`s regional president Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, his deputies Chaudhry Rafique Nayyar and Hafiz Hamid Raza, Sardar Hassan Ibrahim of the Jammu Kashmir People`s Party, and Ali Shan Soni.

Mr Soni, although elected on a PTI ticket, has aligned himself with former premier Sardar Tanveer Ilyas after the inception of Mr Haqled government in April last year.

`I have not seen this much disrespect for the Legislative Assembly in the past. The MLAs are not being allowed to speak on the noor, rendering this house ineffective,` said Mr Niazi, warning that theconsequences of the situation will be borne by all lawmakers in the future.

Criticising the use of force against protesters, he said: `When political parties become ineffective, people take to the streets to demand their rights. The government should have understood the region`s sensitivity, but instead, it gave India an opportunity to spread negative propaganda.

The discomfort of the treasury benches multiplied when Mr Qadir, Mr Yasin and Mr Haider took the floor after lunch/prayer break. They subjected the government, particularly Prime Minister Haq, to scathing criticism.

`What kind of government operates without cabinet meetings and seeks approvals by circulation,` remarked Mr Haider.

`What was the point of convening the budget meeting?The budget could also have been approved by circulation,` he added.

After the second break, the chair gave the floor to Finance Minister Abdul Majid Khan to present demands for grants.

The opposition, however, raised an outcry, claiming their cut motions were excluded from the agenda with malicious intent and staged a walkout.

In the absence of the opposition, the treasury benches approved the budget by voting in favour of all grant demands.

Later, the house referred the finance bill to the concerned committee.

As the finance minister and the prime minister were poised to deliver speeches post-approval, Mr Qadir suggested postponing their speeches until the next day, after which the chair adjourned the session until Thursday noon.