In session: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa govt passes three laws despite stiff resistance

Opposition lawmakers say they need more time to scrutinise bills.

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly on Tuesday passed two new laws concerning farm services and food safety and one amendment law on tenancy despite resistance from the opposition.

The agenda of the day included voting on three bills, the K-P Farm Services Center Bill 2014, K-P Food Safety Authority Bill 2014 and K-P Tenancy (Amendment) Bill 2014.

When Speaker Asad Qaiser asked for a nod on the Farm Services Bill 2014, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) members stood up to voice their opposition.

Qaiser paid no attention to QWP’s concerns and the party’s lawmaker Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli accused the PTI government of bulldozing the procedure with their majority.

Ironically, opposition members who wanted further discussions had failed to submit a single amendment despite the fact that some of these bills were introduced two months ago.

After the Farm Services Bill was passed, Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak reminded the treasury benches that this legislation was to be implemented across the province so the government should not hasten the process.

Babak proposed that these laws be discussed in length (section by section) before being put to vote. He was backed by QWP leader Sikandar Hayat Sherpao.

Speaker Asad Qaiser maintained that the house would be run as per procedure, reminding the opposition that they had not moved a single amendment to the respective bill despite having ample time.

Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli cautioned against speedy legislation stating that justice hurried was akin to justice denied.

She said Senior Minister Sirajul Haq told the house a day earlier that the government wanted to pass 15 laws, and given the high number there was not enough time to read them thoroughly.

She demanded that treasury benches send the K-P Food Safety Authority Bill 2014 for a detailed discussion to the select committee.

However, Information Minister Shah Farman chimed in saying that the leadership had accommodated opposition views on all important bills, but the government now needed to enact various laws to complete its reformed agenda. He advised opposition parties to avoid taking too much time on laws which were not that complicated.

However, Babak continued to argue the opposition’s need for more time and asked treasury benches to stop politicising deadlines, asking why the government was in such a hurry.

He clarified the opposition’s motive was not to criticise but improve these laws. While discussing food safety, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker Munawar Khan asked Minister for Health Shaukat Ali Yousafzai to explain the bill to the house. When Yousafzai failed to satisfy the queries, PTI lawmaker Sardar Idrees came to the health minister’s rescue and reiterated the point made earlier that the bill was moved in January, which gave the opposition ample time to submit an amendment.

He asked the speaker to proceed to the vote without allowing more time to opposition lawmakers, reminding them that amendment could be added at a later stage.

Adviser to Chief Minister on Social Welfare & Women Development, Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, asked members not to oppose this bill as it was crucial to stop the distribution of adulterated food items across the province.

Once put to a vote, the Food Safety Bill passed with an overwhelming majority with only one negative vote from the opposition benches.

However, the government did not have the same luck with the Tenancy Amendment Bill, as opposition members fought tooth and nail to send the bill to the concerned committee for further discussion. Despite their efforts, the bill was passed by the majority.

The K-P Housing Authority Amendment Bill 2014 was also introduced in the house on Tuesday. The session was later adjourned till Wednesday afternoon. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2014.