K-P regularises services of 40,000 schoolteachers

Passes resolution asking centre to speed up FATA merger with K-P amid opposition’s protest

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly on Friday regularised the services of around 40,000 schoolteachers and other employees who were recruited on contract bases by the incumbent government through the National Testing Services (NTS).

The services of teachers and other employees of the elementary and secondary education department were regularised by the assembly by passing a bill titled, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Employees of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department (Appointment and Regularisation of Services) Act 2017.

The original copy of the Act was regularising the services from the date of the commencement of this Act but later it was amended and the services of the teachers and other staff were regularised from their respective dates of appointments.

The opposition members and also the members of the treasury benches requested the education minister Atif Khan to make it from the date of their appointment and he agreed after which the bill was amended.

The speaker Asad Qaiser and along with the members of both opposition and treasury benches congratulated Atif Khan for regularising the services of the teachers and called it a memorable day.

K-P, Fata merger

The assembly also passed a resolution asking the federal government to speed-up its steps to ensure the merger of Fata in to K-P.

The K-P Law Minister Imtiaz Shah Qureshi moved the resolution which was passed unanimously, but JUI-F lawmaker Mufti Said Janan stood-up and opposed the resolution saying that the assembly should not decide the future of millions of people of Fata through resolutions.

People of Fata have guarded this country for decades without any remuneration. Their future cannot be decided through a resolution. “I being a person hailing from Tribal areas oppose the resolution,” he said.

Nighat Orakzai of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) raised the alleged murder issue of a girl in Nowshera. She requested for an inquiry committee comprising ISI and MI officials to probe into the case. The law minister said that the committee cannot be made in the case since it is in investigation stage as it will an intrusion in ongoing investigation in the case.

Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) lawmaker Meraj Humayun demanded for a detailed report from the home department and police about the issue that why women are being killed. “Here we are talking FATA merger in K-P when you can’t gave protection to the people of the province then how will you protect the Fata women?” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2017.