File photo of K-P Assembly. PHOTO: AFP
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed the bills including the K-P Finance (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Galiyat Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the- KP Universities (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the K-P Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
All these bills were moved by the Provincial Minister for Information Shaukat Yousafzai.
The opposition members protested over delay of around 90 minutes in the session by thumping desks.
The opposition boycotted the session immediately after it commenced which stirred up a ruckus in the assembly.
The opposition members all marched towards the assembly’s lobby, following which the provincial Information Minister Shaukat Yousufzai and Food Minister Qalandar Lodhi held talks with the protesting lawmakers. Both sides agreed to address all issues through talks and in this regard, an agreement was also signed.
However, the assembly speaker violated the agreement shortly after it was signed as the session continued.
The assembly’s agenda lapsed due to the absence of the opposition members. The protesting opposition lawmakers returned to the assembly and surrounded the speaker’s dais for violating the agreement.
The information minister said that they were ready to have dialogues with the opposition however, he warned, the members who had used indecent language against the speaker would have to apologise. The demand was turned down by the opposition members instantly. Amid the bedlam, it was the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leader Bilal Afridi’s turn to speak but the opposition members kept interrupting him which ended up in a quarrel between them.
Fazal Elahi from PTI said that the assembly had been converted into a fish market by some members. He declared that usage of the microphone in the assembly session was illegal after which the speaker directed the security personnel to seize any similar items from the members onwards.
The house approved the BAP lawmaker’s motion seeking to reconstitute the assembly’s standing committees in order to include the members elected from the newly-merged districts in the committees.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Dr Sumaira Shams moved a privilege motion against the Lower Dir District Health Officer (DHO).
She said that an irrelevant person attended a parliamentary panel’s meeting and complained that her family was being pressurised.
Information Minister Shaukat Yousufzai supporting Shams claimed that the DHO did it deliberately and added that this kind of behavior was unacceptable. After this, the motion was referred to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures and Privileges.
The speaker adjourned the session until today (Tuesday).
Later, talking to the media after the session, Awami National Party (ANP) leader in the provincial assembly Sardar Hussain Babak said that the speaker continued the session after entangling the opposition in the dialogue. He criticised the government for flouting the agreement and clarified that the opposition would not talk with the government now.
Development funds
A delegation of opposition members held a meeting with K-P additional chief secretary for release of development funds. The government official assured the members that the issue would be taken up with the chief minister and chief secretary.
The opposition members had said that the development funds allocated for lawmakers were not released at the behest of the chief minister. The Jamat-e-Islami (JI) leader Inayatullah said that the court orders in this regard were very clear.
Suspended MPAs
As many as nine members of the K-P Assembly including Special Adviser to chief minister Ghazi Ghazan Jamal had been suspended for not submitting annual details of their assets.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2020.
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