Bill tabled in PA to clip governor's powers

Unsatisfactory answers led to questions being referred to standing committees

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PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government on Monday tabled a bill in the provincial Assembly to further clip the wings of the Governor who has already been replaced by the Chief Minister as Chancellor of the public sector universities.In this regard, the Institute of Management Sciences (Amendment) Bill 2025 was presented in the assembly, proposing amendments to the IM Sciences Ordinance 2002 to transform it into an Act.

The bill also seeks to remove the Governor as Chairman of the Board of Governors and transfer this authority to the Chief Minister. To achieve this, an amendment has been proposed to Section 10, Clause 1 of the IM Sciences Ordinance 2002.

Once amended, the Chief Minister will assume the role of Chairman of the 13-member Board of Governors, replacing the Governor.

Additionally, MPA Akbar Ayub presented the Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Haripur Bill 2025 in the assembly.

Similarly, Law Minister Aftab Alam introduced a bill to amend the Shariah Nizam-e-Adal Regulation, specifically revising Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Regulation 2009, including Section 6A, Clause 1, and Section 1, Clause 2.

The revised regulation will take effect immediately, ensuring the extension of assistant judges' tenure based on performance rather than temporary extensions.

Cabinet Members Fail to Address Queries

During the assembly session, cabinet members were unable to answer questions about their respective departments.

Due to unsatisfactory responses from irrelevant MPAs, all matters discussed during the Question Hour were referred to the respective standing committees.

Government and opposition members raised concerns regarding wildlife, forests, industry, environment, minerals, and health departments. However, due to the absence of most cabinet members, their queries were answered by other government representatives, whose responses were deemed inadequate.

As a result, the Panel of Chairman referred all these matters to standing committees. Some treasury members even criticized their own government, raising concerns about departmental performance. The session was chaired by Panel of Chairman Taj Muhammad.

Forest Department Under Scrutiny

During the Question Hour, MPA Abdul Ghani inquired about the number of plants purchased by the Forest Department from a private nursery in Khyber district over the past four years and the outstanding payments.

He claimed that the department's response was unsatisfactory and that the private nursery still owed Rs. 9 million.

In response, Law Minister Aftab Alam stated that the payment had already been made and asked the MPA to present evidence so that appropriate action could be taken.