Worth your time?: Delayed proceedings become norm in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly

With lawmakers arriving late, sessions start with delays of more than an hour.

PESHAWAR: The rhetoric of change has become the talk of the town; from people on the streets to primetime television, the mantra has taken current affairs by storm.

However, the ones playing the tune have done little to put ‘change’ to effect on their own turf, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly. For dwellers of the promised ‘Naya K-P’, punctuality of lawmakers could have been a symbolic reference towards the slogans that echo in the house.



But perhaps once they reach the corridors of power, such efficiencies seem too frivolous for those who claim to shoulder the responsibility of shaping the war-torn province’s destiny.

Time wasted, delayed starts and pending caucuses have become routine with the treasury and opposition alike in the house. It has in fact become a revered tradition to start assembly sessions over an hour late.

At times some of the parliamentarians do complain, however, the concerns fail to make an impression on the majority.

[Not] on time

The session kicked off at 3:17pm on Friday, after a delay of about an hour and 17 minutes after the scheduled start time. The cogs were hardly in motion when the mandatory tea break arrived, coupled with a recess for prayers.

After the break, only a single calling attention notice was discussed. Another notice on the agenda could not be taken up due to the absence of the mover, while three bills were put on hold after an agreement between the treasury and opposition benches. The next important issue on the agenda was a general discussion on an adjournment motion moved by QWP leader Sikandar Hayat Sherpao who too was absent for the hearing. All in all, the session lasted for hardly an hour at most and was adjourned till Monday.

QWP lawmaker Miraj Humayun Khan complained about time being wasted on a point of order and told the speaker that during the ongoing session spanning over 36 days, the house has held only 13 sittings. “Our questions are not being taken up due to an extended number of holidays,” complained Khan.

Similarly on November 24, the session had started at 3:25pm instead of 2pm. On the day’s agenda, there were three questions, all from JUI-F lawmaker Mufti Fazl Ghafoor. The questions, however, lapsed as the mover arrived after the speaker had asked for the questions to be tabled.

ANP lawmaker Syed Jaffer Shah told the speaker on a point of order that most of the people usually arrive at around 2pm, but the session is delayed an hour or two every time.

“Journalists, officials and assembly staff all arrive on time and wait for the session to start,” Shah said.

Speaker Asad Qaiser concurred with him and said that lawmakers should ensure punctuality.

He said that he himself has to wait in his chamber until at least 40 members arrive, before he can start the session.

Lawmakers were perhaps in a rush on November 17 when the session hardly lasted for over 50 minutes. Following the break, the house was short of quorum and hence adjourned.

Surprisingly, there is no bar on the length of the break as the announced duration of 10-15 minutes can linger on for about 45 minutes at the ease of elected representatives.

It seems lawmakers from either side of the aisle have little interest in the way the house functions.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2014.