K-P Assembly fails to address public issues

Squeezing millions out of the treasury for members' perks, the provincial legislature has neglected woes of the masse

PESHAWAR:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has been in power in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa since the past three tenures however, despite the provincial assembly holding daily sessions, the discussions remain predominantly centred around political blame-gaming as opposed to acknowledging and addressing public issues.

In essence, the local government system, which is supposed to resolve issues at the grassroots level, has been dysfunctional while their representatives lack basic funds to run their offices. Similarly, government hospitals continue to face severe shortages of medical resources, forcing patients to purchase even basic supplies from their own pockets. Likewise, 30 out of the province's 34 universities are facing severe financial crises, instigating disillusionment among the youth of the province over the Assembly's visible inaction.

Nabeel, a youth from Peshawar was of the opinion that provincial legislatures were meant to address public issues, but unfortunately, the representatives of the province were more interested in spreading hate speech and levelling accusations. "Since May 2024, the current government has passed only 30 new bills, out of which just seven address public concerns. The majority of the bills focus on government perks, official employees, and departmental matters," lambasted Nabeel.

Shehla Gul, K-P Assembly's opposition member from the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) expressed her concerns over the current government's failure to address the grievances of the masses.

"The bills that have been passed seem to serve the personal interests of government members. Despite the Assembly holding numerous sessions, public issues remain unaddressed since the members who are supposed to be discussing public problems are preoccupied with sloganeering against the establishment and the federation," criticized Gul who further claimed that millions of rupees were spent on Assembly sessions however, whenever public issues were raised, the relevant minister was absent. "This reflects the priorities of the Assembly," she added.

According to data obtained by The Express Tribune from sources within the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, each member receives approximately Rs5,000 as daily allowance, which comprises Rs1,000 as daily allowance, Rs640 as conveyance allowance, and Rs1,600 as house rent allowance. In addition, members also receive Rs15 per kilometer for traveling from their homes to the Assembly. With 120 members in the Assembly, the total daily expenditure comes out to be Rs600,000, adding up to millions of rupees spent on a monthly basis.

On the other hand, Shafiq Jan, Deputy Secretary Information of PTI and a member of the Assembly, defended the Assembly's performance, claiming instead that the bills passed had taken into account issues of public interest.

Jan still acknowledged that the province faced challenges during the caretaker government's tenure, impacting its ability to tackle common public problems and financial matters. "It may take time for the public to reap the benefits of the bills passed in the Assembly, Our priority is to resolve public issues to the best of our abilities," said Jan.