In K-P: Opposition parties short of signatures for session requisition

ANP MPA Babak says govt avoiding summoning the session fearing debate on issues

PESHAWAR: The opposition parties in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly could not agree to submit a new requisition for the session after their earlier requisition had been returned by Speaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani.

The opposition parties, with the signature of 35 members, had submitted a requisition for calling the assembly meeting in the provincial assembly along with a 15-point agenda.

However, eight of the members, who had submitted the requisition with their signatures, had been suspended by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for not submitting annual returns.

Owing to the suspension of the membership of the signatories the speaker had returned the requisition in light of the advice of the assembly secretariat by declaring it to be against the rules.

As per rules the requisition must have the signatures of 31 members and the opposition only had 27 members as the signatures of eight members could not be considered due to the suspension of their mebership.

In this regard, the parliamentary leader of the ANP Sardar Hussain Babak on being contacted by Daily Express said the opposition parties were in contact with each other and will submit a new requisition soon.

“There are many issues that need to be debated in the assembly but the government is avoiding summoning of the K-P Assembly session,” Babak said adding that the opposition wants to requisite the assembly session so that these matters could be discussed.

The ANP lawmaker said that the signatures of the members are being obtained and as soon as the signature numbers are complete, the requisition will be submitted.

Parliamentary secretaries

The appointments of parliamentary secretaries have been put on hold after the government put of the appointment of new ministers, sources said.

Consultations at the government level on this matter are under way for the expansion of K-P cabinet and subsequent appointment of parliamentary secretaries.

The appointment of 10 to 15 parliamentary secretaries will be carried out soon. The provincial government in a bid to adjust its members has decided to appoint many members as the parliamentary secretaries but this matter has so far not been undertaken as the phase of expansion in cabinet is still pending.

In the process of expansion of the provincial cabinet, the appointment of two ministers, three advisors and two to three special assistants will made in the coming few days for which consultations are in the last stage.

Immediately after the expansion in the cabinet, the appointments of government members of assembly for various departments will be made. In this regard, the government sources informed that in the process of appointment phase of the parliamentary secretaries, the PTI women members will receive 50% of the appointments because the experiment of appointing women members in the previous government was a successful one. The ministers benefited by working with women members and hence they are being preferred again this time. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2019.