Assembly chronicles: Govt battered by opposition over security situation

Forms overdue standing committees in year’s first session .

PESHAWAR:

Debate on the province’s worsening law and order dominated proceedings of the recent session of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly. The government’s response to spiraling cases of extortion, kidnapping for ransom and militancy earned the ire of opposition benches who said they had failed their mandate. During the session from January 6 to 22, the government did, however, resolve one outstanding issue: formation of standing committees.

But the government had nothing new to say over the relentless incidents of violence in the province and repeated the old tactic of passing the buck to the centre.

On January 13, scathing criticism from the opposition benches forced the chief minister to propose a joint resolution calling for an in-camera briefing for lawmakers on talks with the Taliban and law and order by the federal government.

Pervaiz Khattak informed the house that he too was being given a cold shoulder by the centre as the premier had yet to respond to a meeting request after four months. Both sides of the aisle then agreed to move a joint resolution asking for an in-camera briefing to the house from Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

On Tuesday, a number of opposition members asked the treasury benches to move a joint resolution that will give the house the mandate to take necessary steps to restore law and order. The issue was agreed between the government and opposition during a general discussion a day earlier.

However, the government later had a sudden change of heart and backed off from its promise.

K-P Minister for Information Shah Farman floated a counter proposal asking for the formation of a committee that will prepare a draft of the proposed resolution to be presented on the last date of the session. This led Qaumi Watan Party lawmaker Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli to accuse the government of playing to the galleries. Towards the end of proceedings on Tuesday, when Awami National Party’s Sardar Hussain Babak and Pakistan Peoples Party’s Nighat Orakzai wanted to table their own version of the resolution, the speaker adjourned the session.

The last day of the session on Wednesday was also marked with heated exchanges over law and order when opposition members took the government to task for not nominating militant leaders in FIRs of attacks on police personnel across the province.

Minister for Finance Sirjaul Haq reminded the opposition that the tribal areas had a dominant role to play in the province’s security situation and they were controlled by the federal and not the provincial government. He said the government will back any proposals of the opposition for bringing the Federally Administered Tribal Areas under K-P. The opposition showed little interest to the Jamaat-e-Islami member’s offer and the fiery exchange between the two sides resumed once more.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2014.