The treasury benches were shocked on Saturday when Raja Riaz – a ruling party member elected from Faisalabad – blasted the government over the exponential increase in the POL prices.

Riaz, in his speech in the National Assembly, said the prices had been raised by Rs25 within a night and added that they were not receiving development funds despite winning and the elections and being in the government. Who is getting these funds, he remarked.

On the other hand, senior opposition leader Ahsan Iqbal said an attempt was being made to turn the FIA into NAB-2 and asked the police officers serving in the agency to refuse to follow the political agenda.

Similarly, Rana Sanaullah, who is the president of PML-N Punjab chapter, on Saturday said the FIA had been assigned with the task of targeting the opposition and questioned the increase in the budget allocated for the interior ministry.

Addressing the National Assembly, he said the entire focus of the government was on propaganda. The increase in the POL prices was the biggest robbery in the country’s history and the government along with the petrol mafia had robbed the people of billions of rupees, the PML-N leader added.

The mafia is present among the ranks of the government, said Rana Sana who added that robberies were being committed one after another as he also cited the example of medicines and wheat crises.

Where were the intelligence agencies, he questioned, which, he added, had been tasked with targeting the opposition.

About the interior ministry budget, Rana Sana said the previous PML-N government in its last budget had allocated Rs109 billion for that, but the amount had been increased to Rs139 last year and to Rs157 billion for the next financial year.

Why the increase in the interior ministry budget when neither salaries nor pensions have been increased, he asked and then gave the answer himself, saying the amount was allocated under the head of other expenditures

Meanwhile, PML-N leader Khurram Dastgir said the treasury benches were seemingly frightened and described the government as a facilitator of mafia.

He blasted Prime Minister Imran Khan for declaring Osama bin Laden as a martyr and said freedom of speech had been strangled in the country.