Finance Minister Ahmed Munavvar has now refuted ever having said that the government would bar parliamentarians who do not support the state budget from development projects.

In an interview with state broadcaster, Public Service Media, Munavvar said that the press had ‘twisted’ the comments he made and used it to ‘deceive the public’.

Local media outlets reported earlier this week that Finance Minister Munavvar said that parliamentarians who oppose the government’s proposed budget for next year will have development projects for constituencies they represent slashed.

Munavvar said this while speaking to the parliamentary review committee tasked with scrutinizing the Finance Ministry’s budget.

The minister went on to explicitly say that opposition parliamentarians who support the budget will have funds allocated for development projects in their constituencies,

On a more empathetic note, Munavvar said that all parliamentarians want development for their constituencies and that they have reservations about the magnitude of the budget, and its potential to raise national debt.

However, he also said that parliamentarians not aligned with the government ‘have had a history’ of not supporting the budget, and therefore do not have a right to express concern over lack of development in their constituencies.