Assembly session: War of words as QWP sits on opposition benches

JUI-F lawmaker says drones could fly over Peshawar and Islamabad if situation not controlled.

PESHAWAR: Former coalition partners in the provincial government, members of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) formally joined the opposition benches at the start of assembly session on Monday.

At the start of session, Speaker Asad Qaiser administered oath to newly-elected lawmaker from DIKhan Sardar Akramullah Khan Gandapur.



Afterwards, QWP provincial chief Sikandar Sherpao termed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) responsible for the break-up of the provincial coalition. He said after joining the government, his party felt the PTI was not keeping its end of the deal reached between the two prior to the coalition’s formation. He said under the PTI-led government, prices in Peshawar went up by 14%. “There were too many deadlines which were revised for one reason or another,” Sherpao said, adding there was no practice of consultation in the coalition.

He maintained PTI was using Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) as a springboard for doing politics in Punjab and the party was ruling the K-P from Lahore. “Coalitions are run with consultation and PTI removed our ministers from the cabinet without any proof. Now, we are going to sit in the opposition,” Sherpao said amid loud applause from the opposition benches.

Minister for Information Shah Farman said during his speech that QWP sentiments were understandable. “No one wants to weaken their own government,” said Farman, adding he understood QWP’s pain but as a matter of principle they could not be coalition partners anymore.



Farman’s statements infuriated QWP lawmakers Bakht Baidar Khan and Anisa Zeb Tahirkhili who tried to disrupt his speech a number of times. Farman said Kalabagh Dam was a dead issue for PTI.

He said it was the PTI chief’s right to run the K-P government under the party’s vision and keep a check on it as the party’s leader.

When desk thumping between lawmakers of both parties had caused enough of a ruckus, the speaker adjourned the session before Farman could conclude his speech.

Earlier, an adjournment motion on drone attacks was admitted in the assembly for debate. The motion was jointly moved by Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Syed Mohammad Ali Shah and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s Mufti Syed Janan.

Janan said drones were hovering over Hangu’s skies and creating fear among the public. He warned that drone attacks may even be carried out in Peshawar and Islamabad in the future if things are allowed to continue the way they are.

Minister for Health Shaukat Yousafzai informed the house his department has appointed 600 doctors, while 900 more were to be appointed soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.