Opposition decides to pass no-confidence motion against speaker

Babak says passing of finance bill would be difficult if rifts in PTI persist

PESHAWAR: The opposition parties in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have decided to pass a no-confidence motion against the speaker, Asad Qaiser, and to take the matter of distribution of development funds to the court.

Opposition leader held a news conference in the assembly following the adjournment of the assembly sitting by Qaiser due to incomplete quorum. The session was held only for two minutes, after which it was adjourned till Tuesday.

“[Qaiser] is acting more like a minister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf not a speaker,” Awami National Party’s Sardar Hussain Babak said.

He added the opposition voted and elected him, but they will now have to discuss whether they trust him or not. However, he said, they will go to the court regarding the distribution of development funds.

Other opposition members at the press conference included Maulana Lutfur Rehman, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Sardar Aurangzeb Nalota and Pakistan Peoples Party’s Fakhar Azam Khan.

Short session

The opposition members were angry at the adjournment as they said it was an important session for the province and its people, but the government did not take it seriously.

Rehman said the session was important because both the treasury and opposition benches were pointing out flaws in the budget and the government should have fixed them. “But the government is not serious about the budget – this has proved the budget has a deficit worth Rs35 billion.”

He added there is no harm in the budget having a deficit, because then the government can plan accordingly.

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“But the government is not admitting to [the deficit] because they want to take credit of the budget,” he said, adding overestimated figures in the budget affects the development projects because of shortage. “Tenders of most of the development projects of the outgoing year have not been issued, because government has no funds for the projects.”

‘Issues’ within government

Babak billed the incomplete quorum a movement against Chief Minister Pervez Khattak in PTI. “A group of PTI lawmakers, with the support of high-ups in the party, are trying to remove Khattak,” he said, adding lawmakers in PTI are deliberately not coming to the assembly so that they could weaken the government’s strength in the house.

Under such circumstances, Babak said, it will be a miracle if the government is able to pass the budget from the house.

“The government is personally visiting houses of PTI lawmakers, asking them to come to the budget session,” he said, adding the internal differences of PTI have come to the fore and Qaumi Watan Party and Jamaat-e-Islami lawmakers are “trying to add fuel to this fire”.

Corruptions charges

He added high-level corruption is also going on and the government is making path for it on a huge scale. “Assets of the province are being sold at nominal prices in the name of privatisation of hydel projects and the energy minister claims to have attracted 72 foreign investors.”

Besides, he said, the government is planning to award contracts to PTI people for making container schools which they are calling smart schools. “[Moreover], billions of rupees are [going into] corruption in Billion Tree Tsunami project,” he said. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2016.