Opp in KP assembly concerned over security situation in province

PESHAWAR (APP): The opposition members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday expressed concerns and apprehensions over the prevailing law and order situation in the province, especially continuous suspicious and threatening phone calls and life threats to notable people including parliamentarians.
Inayatullah Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami initiating debate on his joint adjournment motion signed by Sirajuddin and Humera Khatoon of JI, said that 434 terrorists attacks were reported in one year of which 323 security personnel embraced martyrdom, adding as many as 254 incidents of target killings incidents were reported from the merged districts.
He recalled that PTI’s MPA Malik Liaquat Ali was also attacked in Dir Lower while a police DSP and other security officials were kidnapped in Swat. Parliamentary leader of ANP Sardar Hussain Babak alleged that the provincial government was also paying money to extortionists, adding that due to continuous threats by the criminal elements the people were forced to move to other provinces.
Mir Kalam Wazir said that people were staging protesting for restoration of peace in their areas but the police register FIR against them, he deplored. PPP lawmaker Sanaullah said the peace process in the province was being sabotaged under an organized conspiracy due to which, he said that the business activities have been affected and an atmosphere of disappointment prevails among businessmen and general public.
PPP member Badshah Saleh said that the government and law enforcement agencies should establish peace with the help of local people in affected areas. PTI MPA Mohammad Shafiq maintained that during the last two years an ideal peace was maintained across the province but now there was an atmosphere of fear in the tribal districts.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly also passed KP Teachers (Appointment and Regularization of Services) Bill, 2022 to regularize the services of as many as 38,000 teachers across the provinces including in the merged districts. The bill was moved by Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Shahram Khan Tarakai with Deputy Speaker Mahmood Khan in the chair.
The minister said that KP government was taking pragmatic measure for the welfare of teachers adding that the bill would regularize the services of 38,000 ad-hoc basis teachers throughout the province inducted till June 30, 2022 from the date of their appointments and pension would be given to them.
Meanwhile, the House also passed the KP Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill, 2022 and tabled KP Universities (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 and KP Regularization of Services of Employees of District Governance and Community Development Project Bill, 2022 which were moved by Minister for Higher Education Kamran Khan Bangash.
Earlier, the House was informed in response to a question of Rehana Ismail of JUIF that an amount of Rs100.450 million was deposited in the provincial kitty during the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 under the previous “Prime Minister scheme of domestic poultry farming scheme. He said that KP government distributed 703,758 chickens among 117,293 at the rate of Rs1050 to each beneficiary family.
The prime objective of the scheme was not to make earning for government rather to reduce poverty through promoting domestic poultry farming. To another question of Nighat Orakzai of PPP, it was informed that Rs241.012 million was allocated for local government department of district Orakzai of which Rs64.060 million were released and Rs38.035 million spent so far.
Minister for Minorities’ Affairs Wazirzada informed the House in response to a call attention notice of Wilson Wazir that KP government would provide compensation to the victims of Al-Saint Church blast as soon as the details of the victims would be provided by Commissioner Peshawar and concern department in this regard.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday unanimously passes five different resolutions seeking subsidy on natural gas to KP people and payment of outstanding dues by the federal government to provincial government under different heads.
In a resolution moved by ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak, it was said that under article 158 of the constitution the priority would be given to a province where the natural gas was explored and being supplied.
It said that KP province was producing cheapest gas at the rate of $ 4per MMBTU however the federal government was importing gas at the rate of $ 25 per MMBTU and applying Weighted Average Cost on it and providing it to KP at the same rate.
The House asked the provincial government to recommend the federal government to provide gas to KP people at $4 per MMBTU as per the constitutional requirement. Similarly, a resolution moved by KP Minister Shaukat Yousafzai referring to Article 161(1)(B) of the constitution asked the provincial government to recommend the federal government to provide Federal Excise duty directly to the province and also pay outstanding dues in this regard.
Another resolution moved by KP Minister Shaukat Yousafzai regarding Windfall Levy on Oil as envisaged in the federal government Petroleum policy of August 30, 2012, said that the amount under this head should be equally divided among the federal government and the provinces.
A resolution moved by JI MPA Inayatullah it was demanded that the federal government should be recommended to pay outstanding dues of Rs 10.187 billion under electricity heads to the provincial government. PPP Nighat Orakzai in her resolution said that the Speaker Rest House (Himaliya) should be returned to provincial assembly like the Chief Minister and Governor Houses which were taken back from the Tourism department and given into the custody of the respective departments. All the five resolutions were unanimously passed by the House, chaired by Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan.