The party has also noted that after public calls to cancel the Saab deal and defer construction of another GHQ in Islamabad to raise funds for reconstruction of quake affected areas General Musharraf has stated that the F-16 deal is being reviewed.
After touring a US army field hospital in Muzaffarabad, on Friday last General Musharraf said he was postponing the purchase of F-16s from the United States to focus on relief efforts.
In a statement here on Monday, vice-chairman PPP and leader of the Parliamentary Party in the National Assembly Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that on Friday last the PPP had demanded that the purchase of six Saab planes at one billion dollars from Sweden and the building of a new lavish General Headquarters in Islamabad be deferred and the money be used for the earthquake victims.
Earlier, General Musharraf had sternly rejected calls for cut in military spending saying that quake reconstruction and military budget were two separate things.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim hoped the purchase of Saab aircraft from Sweden would also be postponed in view of the quake emergency.
He said the PPP was not for thoughtless and indiscriminate cut in spending that could make the country's defence vulnerable. It wanted cut in wasteful and unnecessary expenditure and deferring huge military purchases for the time being.
Purchase of Saab aircraft and building new GHQ in Islamabad are unnecessary and wasteful expenditures in the present context, he said. "What is the most pressing need at this time, building a new GHQ in Islamabad when a functional one is already existing in Rawalpindi or catering to the needs a devastated people," he asked.
He said unless the military rulers set the internal house in order, it is unlikely that the international community will come forward to rescue and rehabilitation of tens of thousands in need of urgent assistance.