Dire descent: MPAs raise concerns of Swat slipping back into militancy

Urge government to take practical steps to stem recent wave of target killings

PESHAWAR: Ending the boycott, opposition lawmakers in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly put aside their differences on Friday and attended proceedings which were dominated by a discussion on Swat’s slippery descent into militancy.

Earlier, on Thursday, a five-member committee formed by Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser voiced intentions to improve fragile ties between the treasury and opposition benches when he agreed to apologise for the unpleasant exchange in the house on October 30.

Opposition Leader Maulana Luftur Rehman’s remarks about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) Islamabad sit-in had led to the opposition walking out of  the proceedings.

Before the session began, Minister for Public Health Engineering Shah Farman, MPA Fazl Elahi and other senior cabinet ministers came to the opposition leader’s chambers and accompanied them to the house. A series of reconciliatory speeches were made by both sides.



Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah Khan welcomed the opposition to the house and apologised for the October 30 ruckus. He said the treasury benches should have exercised restraint.

Khan said the unpleasant exchange in the session breached the house’s decorum. According to Khan, the government has a responsibility to conduct assembly sessions in an amicable manner and should work towards avoiding such conflicts.

He insisted the opposition’s boycott was their democratic right and called both sides to respect each other’s point of view. Khan urged the speaker to form a committee to develop a code of conduct if assembly rules and regulations do not specifically deal with the matter. Qaiser concurred with the suggestion and said a parliamentary session will be held to discuss the matter.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader termed the boycott a means to maintain the house’s sanctity and billed the government’s jirga’s attempts to negotiate with them as a positive step. According to Rehman, the jirga held talks with opposition thrice. He said opposition leaders will continue to speak their minds during the sessions and should not be prevented from doing so.

Targeted killings in Swat

During the assembly session, members voiced their concerns over the killing of tribal elders and political workers in Swat district.

The issue was raised on a point of order by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentary leader Syed Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha. The parliamentary leader raised concerns over the murder of Faisal Hayat Chattan, PPP’s general secretary in Swat, on Wednesday.

Shah condemned Chattan’s murder and pressed the provincial government to pay attention to the situation in Swat. According to the parliamentary leader, while Swat has previously been termed a model of peace, not a single week goes by without political leaders and jirga elders becoming victims of target killing.

Awami National Party (ANP) lawmaker from Swat, Syed Jaffer Shah, insisted such incidents cannot be combated by merely condemning them. He urged the federal and K-P governments to pay attention to the situation in the district and take practical steps to tackle the crisis.

Rehman said target killings have become a pressing issue across the province. The law and order situation will only improve if the government takes steps to control the situation.

Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) leader Bakht Baidar also voiced his concerns over the targeted killings of elders. He said they would pose a major challenge for the district and urged the government to adopt a serious approach to the matter.

Reconstruction of schools

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Mohammad Atif Khan informed the house that the government has earmarked Rs2.3 billion to reconstruct old school buildings across the province. He said the education department was surveying buildings constructed before 1974 for this purpose.  The session was adjourned till Monday afternoon.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2014.