Prorogued: K-P Assembly’s longest session comes to a close

Was 15th session of PTI-led govt; conflict of interest bill still not passed

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s longest ever session which started in 2014, finally concluded on Monday as Deputy Speaker Meher Taj read the prorogation, or ending of session, order.

The lengthy session had 80 sittings under it and the one prorogued on Monday was the 15th session of the incumbent government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. However, it was yet another sitting in which the much talked about K-P Prevention of Conflict of Interest Bill did not pass. This is the third time the bill has been delayed and the session eventually concluded due to incomplete quorum.

Waiting on numbers

The house had the bill on its supplementary agenda but the quorum remained incomplete.

An insider in the assembly told The Express Tribune PTI Chairperson Imran Khan was pushing for the bill to be passed by the house but the lawmakers—both opposition and treasury—are not in its favour. He said that is why they delayed the passing of the bill for a third time.

The conflict of interest bill aims at separating private interests and duties of public officeholders. It was tabled in June 6, 2014, but due to lawmakers’ objections it was referred to a select committee of the assembly. The select committee, chaired by the  chief minister, considered the bill clause by clause, made changes in it and resubmitted it in the house.

In October 2015, Minister for Law Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi tried to get the bill passed, but Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl lawmakers Munawar Khan and Mehmood Khan Bittani raised objections and called for a discussion on the bill. They even said lawmakers and their families would find it difficult to lead their lives if the bill was passed.

The speaker then ordered the bill be delayed as it was processed through the select committee and could not be referred there again due to legal constraints.

According to the insider, the bill was not on Monday’s agenda but was added as a supplementary agenda point as many lawmakers remain against it. While commenting on the lawmakers’ stance and PTI’s attitude towards the bill, MPA Shaukat Yousufzai said, “Anyone who wants to be part of PTI has to go by its policies.”

House issues

The law minister, however, refuted the notion that a majority of the treasury bench is avoiding the assembly to delay the bill. “We can call another session to pass the bill,” Qureshi said while speaking to the media after the sitting and commenting on the house’s failure to pass the legislation.

The session that ended on Monday had its first sitting on October 23, 2014. Since Monday’s quorum was also incomplete Roghani said, “I would like to tell the members of the house to be regular and punctual in future.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2016.