Uproar in PA session as government, opposition trade barbs

Lawmakers point out graft in education dept, allotment of vacant posts

QUETTA: The opposition parties on Monday accused the provincial government of selling home department’s posts, triggering uproar in the Balochistan Assembly as both treasury and opposition members exchanged harsh words.

The session chaired by Deputy Speaker Sardar Babar Musakhail saw heated debates after opposition member and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader Asghar Ali Tareen alleged that the provincial government had sold the department posts.

“Instead of writing job opportunities, the provincial government should have published Balochistan’s ‘Levies 90 vacant posts with total bid’ because the vacant positions were subjected to irregularities and corruption,” Tareen said as he claimed having audio and video evidence of people taking bribe from poor applicants.

Tareen’s allegations turned the house into a fish market as treasury members stood up and refuted the allegations. Following the uproar, the JUI-F’s leader walked-out of the session, compelling the deputy speaker to take a 15 minutes break to normalise the situation.

Talking on the point of order, JUI-F’s Syed Fazal Agha corroborated the allegations of Tareen and said in Pishin, money was demanded from candidates who filled applications for vacant posts in provincial Levies force.

“If the government doesn’t know about corruption in recruitment process then it should initiate an investigation and unveil the corrupt officials,” Agha said.

Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s MPA Naserullah Zeeray sought attention of the house over appointment of non-teaching staff in education department and added that despite Chief Minister Inspection Team’s report, the CM didn’t take any action over irregularities and graft in the department.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Minister for Agriculture Engineer Zamrak Khan Achakzai assured the opposition members that the government will take strict action against officials involved in selling government jobs.

Giving ruling over minister’s response, the deputy speaker called his statement as satisfactory.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2020.