Pistols in purses: Muzzles puzzle the house

K-P lawmakers surprised that women MPAs enter assembly building with guns.

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly was in for a surprise on Wednesday when a senior opposition leader broke the news that some female lawmakers were bringing firearms to the legislature.

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Sardar Hussain Babak said he received a letter from house security staff that a few female MPAs were not following security protocol and were carrying arms in their purses.

Babak asked his colleagues to abide by the law that prohibits lawmakers to carry weapons in the house.

“It is sad to bring arms to the house,” said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Nighat Orakzai, adding it was an insult to the assembly.

The issue was put to rest once a treasury lawmaker changed focus. However, a senior opposition lawmaker told reporters that this letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, states some female MPAs have been carrying pistols while attending assembly sessions. Female constables of the special branch responsible for checking purses did not follow search protocol due to the lawmakers’ ‘high’ status. The letter further read that the accused MPAs were requested to refrain from coming to the assembly hall armed.

During the question hour, opposition and treasury lawmakers debated on the issue of water.  Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli asked about K-P’s share of the 1991 Water Accord. The written reply stated about 8.78 million acre-feet of water was allocated to the province, while its share of flood waters and new dams is 14%.

Furthermore, K-P uses 66% of its share, while about 3 million acres or 34% could not be utilised due to a lack of irrigation and canal systems. Tahirkheli further questioned what K-P was getting in return for sharing its water with other provinces and what was being planned to utilise its full share of water.

QWP’s Sikandar Sherpao asked whether the government was going to raise this issue with the Council of Common Interests (CCI), adding that K-P was supposed to receive Rs100 billion for its share.

Adviser for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arif Yousaf said the government was aware of this issue, but the queries should be submitted once again. This infuriated opposition lawmakers who referenced house rules saying MPAs have the right to ask supplementary questions and ministers should come to the house prepared. Minister for Information Shah Farman also backed Arif and accused opposition leaders of antagonising the government. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker Mufti Syed Janan asked the speaker to allow this issue for discussion under rule 48 and the government did not oppose it.

Furthermore, PPP lawmaker from Chitral PK-90 Sardar Hussain also took oath as MPA. The session was in progress till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2014.