Elected reps can use sirens on their cars: K-P Assembly told

Minister’s assertion that there is no ban surprises some

PESHAWAR: Elected representatives can use hooters/sirens on their cars and there is no ban in this regard, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa minister for local government Inayatullah Khan said on Monday.

“There is no ban on the use of sirens. If a police officer can use hooter on his car, why not an elected representative? We have to support our elected representatives,” Inayatullah told the K-P Assembly.

He was responding to a question raised by a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl lawmaker Uzma Khan, who asked if elected representatives of local government could use hooters/sirens on their cars.

“Why do Nazims use hooters on their cars?” Uzma asked, adding that this government ascended to power promising to end what it termed ‘protocol culture’ but the use of hooters by Nazims was against this assertion.



The minister said that Nazims were entitled to official vehicles and some of them were using such vehicles from the existing pool of the municipal administration while the government was providing vehicles to those without.

“There is no ban on using sirens, but personally, I don’t like to have one on my car,” he said.

Annoyed by the minister’s response, Uzma told the house: “If there is no ban on using sirens on cars, then all government officials and all 124 lawmakers of the provincial assembly must start using them while driving cars.”

Inayatullah’s reply also surprised lawmaker Malik Noor Saleem Khan.

“I always thought that police will arrest anyone using sirens without proper authorisation,” he said.

Higher Education Dept’s lethargy

Saleem, a lawmaker from Lakki Marwat, criticised the higher education department for not building a college in his constituency despite being ordered to do so by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

“Some elements in the higher education department do not want the college to be built. I want the college to be built for public benefit, in close proximity of high schools,” Saleem said while speaking on a privilege motion.



According to him, he had been struggling to get the college constructed for the past four years and he had even offered his own land.

“Such an institution will benefit students from underdeveloped areas. But the higher education department wants to build it on purchased land,” he said.

Members of the relevant standing committee of the K-P Assembly had visited the site where he intended to set up the college, but bureaucrats had declared the spot suitable where the higher education department wanted to set up the college, he said.

“It appears that officials of the higher education department don’t care about the orders of the chief minister. My constituents are suffering because of the delay in building the college and this has tarnished my image,” he said.

He asked the deputy speaker, Dr Mehar Taj Roghani, to refer the matter to the assembly’s privilege committee which she did with the consent of the house.

Leader of the opposition Maulana Lutfur Rahman also condemned the higher education department for delaying building the college.