K-P braces for a noisy budget session

PESHAWAR: Despite the fact that a meeting between the government and the opposition ended in agreement that no protests will be staged during next week’s budget session, reports suggest that some members of the opposition plan not to allow the session to go smoothly.

Talks were held between the government and the opposition at the Speaker House in Peshawar late on Thursday. The government delegation was led by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, while the opposition was led by Leader of the Opposition in the K-P Assembly Akram Khan Durrani.

During the meeting, it was decided that the opposition will forego their tradition of raising a ruckus in the assembly when the budget is presented next week.

The agreement came after the government assured the opposition parties that all their issues will be resolved through mutual understanding while their share in development funds will also be released.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s (MMA) Durrani said that he will cooperate with the government and that the opposition members will withdraw their resignations from the standing committees of the provincial assembly.

But sources within the opposition ranks have told The Express Tribune that they will stage a protest during the budget session over the arrest of senior leaders of the PPP and the PML-N.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2019.