Hitting rock bottom: K-P lawmakers come to blows in farcical session

Tarakai and Babar Saleem trade insults and get into a scuffle

PESHAWAR: K-P lawmakers have often come close to blows, but this time Minister for Health Shahram Tarakai and PTI lawmaker Babar Saleem actually got involved in a scuffle with each other.

PTI lawmakers Muhammad Ali Tarakai, Jamshed Khan and Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Atif Khan also jumped into the brawl and tried to attack Saleem. However, others intervened and separated the squabbling MPAs. Speaker Asad Qaiser was shouting at the lawmakers to maintain order in the house, while some members of the assembly were pushing closer to get a jab in.



Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was also present in the house and he asked the speaker to wind up business and adjourn proceedings. Consequently, Qaiser adjourned the sitting till Wednesday.

The brawl broke out from a cut motion by Saleem over the demand for a grant from Tarakai, who also has the portfolio of minister for science and information technology.

Saleem, a political opponent of Tarakai and his family in Swabi, often criticised his rivals for limiting development funds to their own areas of the district. He submitted Rs420 cut motion on the Rs70.9 million demand for grants by the IT department.



The house laughed at the Rs420 cut motion and Saleem explained he wanted to select a figure befitting the minister. He called Tarakai and his family “420” and that is when the scuffle broke out.

Earlier, Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said, while winding up the budget debate, thanked the opposition and government for their support in securing K-P’s rights from the federal government. “The Centre is to pay Rs25 billion in the current year and will also pay Rs15 billion for 2016-17 and in the coming years to reach the Rs70 billion amount mutually agreed between the two on net hydel profit arrears.”



Said stated the government appreciated the positive criticism of the opposition. He added the provincial regime was trying to increase its non-tax receipts. A committee headed by Minister for Irrigation Sikandar Sherpao is trying to chalk out a plan to utilise government land for commercial purposes to generate finances.

Regarding the Bank of Khyber issue raised in debates, he said, “I am not in a position to talk on the matter as it is being looked into by an enquiry committee. However, I assure you I have not even taken medical allowance during my two terms as a member of the assembly.”

The house could only approve three demands for grants for year 2016-17 related to the provincial assembly, finance department and planning and development department, thus defeating 50 cut motions moved by the opposition and treasury benches.

The banter continues

Awami National Party parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak lashed out at the government for its performance with regards to completing development schemes and fund releases under the ADP. He presented a comparison of the former ANP-led K-P government and the current regime. “When we were leaving the government, the throw forward was Rs151 billion.” He added now the same figure was Rs491 billion and this could be verified from the finance department’s records.

Babak pointed out this was the highest throw forward in history, adding the government rapidly included development schemes in the ADP, but released nominal amounts. He told the house schemes would take more than a decade to complete and PTI would not even be ruling in the province by that time.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2016.