K-P Assembly faces awkward situation

PTI lawmaker demands payment of royalty to Kohat standing on desk, women lawmakers demand Farman’s disqualification


Sohail Khattak May 06, 2017
PTI lawmaker demands payment of royalty to Kohat standing on desk, women lawmakers demand Farman’s disqualification. AN EXPRESS NEWS SCREENGRAB

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly on Friday faced an awkward situation as a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker stood on his desk demanding that the government pay oil and gas royalty to Kohat and women lawmakers demanded the disqualification of a minister for using inappropriate language with them.

According to details, PTI faced embarrassment as its lawmaker Amjad Afridi climbed on his desk in protest against the provincial government over non-payment of oil and gas royalty to Kohat.

Afridi had asked deputy speaker Dr Mehar Taj Roghani to give him the assembly’s floor so that he could ask the government about the reason for the delay in the release of royalty funds, but she did not. The desperate Afridi then climbed on his desk and started shouting in the house; “the chief minister promised me on the floor of the house that the royalty funds would be released in 10 days, but those 10 days have not passed.”

Ruckus in K-P Assembly over PTI lawmaker's remarks about women members

The women lawmakers from the opposition benches also protested in the house as Roghani did not permit them to move a resolution against K-P Minister for Public Health Engineering Shah Farman for using un-parliamentary language with women lawmakers. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker Sobia Khan wanted to move a resolution against Farman’s behaviour, demanding the cancellation of his assembly membership, but the deputy speaker wanted to postpone the matter as Farman and Nighat Orakzai – who fought on Tuesday- were absent.

The PTI’s women lawmakers and the opposition lawmakers chanted slogans against each other and then the opposition women staged a walkout in protest.

The opposition lawmakers also grilled the government over the absence of a majority of the government ministers during the question-answer session. PML-N lawmaker Sardar Aurangzeb Nalota asked, "Who is the information technology (IT) minister? We have not seen him in the past four years." Nalota’s question regarding the construction of IT Park in Abbottabad was on the agenda and he wanted the government to clarify when work on the IT Park would start.

K-P Assembly session marred by lack of quorum

Mufti Said Janan of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl staged a walkout in protest against K-P Health and IT Minister Shahram Khan who was late and the deputy speaker deferred the questions until his arrival. “For the first time I am seeing that the assembly business has been delayed for a minister. This does not happen anywhere in the world. I would prefer to protest and walk out of such an assembly,” he said and left in a huff.

Legislations

The government tabled the K-P Mental Health Authority Bill 2017, in the house under which a Mental Health Authority would be established in the province for the treatment, care, management of properties and affairs of mentally challenged persons in the province.

The authority would be chaired by the health secretary, while, the health director, a representative each from the K-P home and tribal affairs, law and social welfare departments would be its members.

PTI, PPP put up a joint front in K-P Assembly

Along with three eminent psychiatrists, the authority would have a member from civil society. As per the bill, the government would establish and maintain psychiatric facilities in the province along with establishing drug dependence units where needed.

The local government minister tabled the K-P Local Government Third (Amendment) Bill 2017, under which the communication and works department has been removed from the devolved departments list in the act. The law minister tabled the K-P Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill 2017, under which the jurisdiction of the civil courts has been increased. Earlier, cases having monetary value of above Rs1 million could not be trailed in the civil courts, but now the value has been increased to Rs10 million.

Protest

The K-P Civil Society Network along with women parliamentarians also staged a protest outside the provincial assembly building against Farman demanding cancellation of his assembly membership. Wearing black masks and waving placards, women chanted ‘Shame, Shame Shah Farman’ for calling a woman lawmaker ‘blackface’. Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Robina Khalid and former member of National Assembly Jamila Gilani also participated in the protest. Addressing the protestors, Gilani said that it was shameful that Farman used derogatory remarks for a woman lawmaker. She said his assembly membership should be cancelled immediately.

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