Fragile ties: Opposition ends boycott of K-P Assembly session

JI provincial ameer raises doubts over PTI mandate, alleging rigging in the province .

PESHAWAR:

A five-member committee formed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser seems to have ironed out the differences between the treasury and opposition benches as the former reportedly agreed on Thursday to apologise for the October 30 brouhaha.

Opposition Leader Maulana Luftur Rehman’s remarks about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Islamabad sit-in sparked a ruckus in the assembly session that day. It ultimately led to the opposition walking out of proceedings on the first day of the current session on Monday and the boycott continued for a second consecutive day on Tuesday.



On Thursday, the five-member committee formed by Asad Qaiser met opposition leaders to end the deadlock. It included senior ministers Inayatullah Khan and Shahram Tarakai, information minister Mushtaq Ghani, law minister Imtiaz Shahid and finance minister Muzaffar Syed.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary leader Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha told The Express Tribune that Rehman and other parliamentary leaders of opposition parties were present at the meeting. He said the meeting lasted about 30 minutes and it was stated the treasury would express its regret over the unpleasant exchange with the opposition.

Nalotha said opposition leaders told the delegation of ministers that the protest was not held in personal interest, but rather to safeguard the sanctity of the assembly floor. He quipped the majority of treasury benchers were “newcomers”, while the experienced opposition members had a responsibility to maintain a cordial environment in the assembly.

He said opposition members would meet at about 2:00pm on the assembly premises on Friday (today) and brief lawmakers about their decision to attend the session.

Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak said the opposition informed the treasury delegation that abusive language and attempts of physical violence violated the assembly’s decorum. He said such incidents tainted the house’s reputation.

Babak also confirmed the treasury bench lawmakers had said they would express their regret over the events of October 30, saying they had realised their mistake.

The assembly is scheduled to meet today.

Brittle coalition

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) provincial ameer Professor Mohammad Ibrahim Khan on Thursday cast doubts over Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf’s (PTI) mandate in K-P, saying the extent of poll rigging was greater in K-P compared to Punjab.

A statement issued by JI’s provincial secretariat quoted Ibrahim from his address to the party’s ulema wing.

“The 2013 general elections were completely engineered,” Ibrahim claimed.

Ibrahim also criticised PTI chief Imran Khan’s proposal to include representatives of intelligence agencies in the proposed judicial commission to investigate poll rigging. He said the JI had its reservations over the suggestion.

He added JI’s alliance with PTI was limited to K-P and both parties were free to pursue their own policies on the national level. Ibrahim demanded elections under a proportional representation system as well as a financially and administratively independent election commission.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2014.