KP Assembly passes Antiquities Bill 2016

Public Service Commission and
Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms acts amended

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly unanimously passed the KP Antiquities Bill, 2016 on Tuesday besides adopting two more bills bringing amendments to KP Public Service Commission Act and Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act.

Law Minister Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi presented the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Antiquities Bill on behalf of the chief minister. It was passed unanimously. The bill is aimed at protecting, preserving and maintaining antiquities in the province.  

The new legislation is a comprehensive document incorporating the relevant clauses from both the KP Antiquities Act 1997 and Federal Antiquities Act 1975.

Since the Archaeology and Museums Department had been devolved to the provinces after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, it was vital to bring forth new law to meet the present-day requirements in the field of cultural assets, archaeology and museums and to remove contradictions and flaws in the relevant laws.

The minister on behalf of the chief minister also presented the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission (amendment) Bill, 2016, repealing the ordinance earlier promulgated.

The amendment to Section 7 of the KP Public Service Commission Ordinance, 1978 is about filling out the posts of junior clerks in all departments, attached departments and at district level.

Senior Minister Health Shahram Khan Tarakai presented the KP Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms (amendment) Bill, which is aimed at empowering the administrations of public sector hospitals to run their affairs independently.

The hospitals or health institutions’ boards or administration would be authorised to create, re-designate or abolish posts provided the financial implications do not exceed the approved annual budget as they will get grant from the government as single line budget.

To a question by Munawar Khan of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Health Minister Shahram Tarakai informed the House that the main objective of introducing the amendment was to grant more independence to hospital administrations.

The minister said the hospitals would be authorised to create, re-designate or abolish a post for improving their services within their one-time budget. He said the amendment was aimed at removing bureaucratic hurdles in the delivery of public services.

Regarding the protest of the paramedics, the minister said the government introduced reforms in the health sector and enhanced the salaries, perks and privileges of doctors and other health workers, but those staging protests wanted to put pressure the government.

He said salaries of the doctors in KP were higher than their counterparts in other provinces, but they were not ready to perform duty in remote areas for which attractive salary packages were introduced for those serving in hard areas.

On a call attention notice of Qurban Ali Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf about sending behind bars landowners of Nowshera, Speaker Asad Qaiser tasked the Law Reforms Committee to draft laws about the price of land acquired by the government.

Qurban Ali said that some owners of the land acquired for Industrial Zone near Karnal Sher Khan Interchange held a protest against the forced acquisition of their land. He said the administration registered cases against the protesting owners and sent them behind bars.

He said at the time of Motorway construction, the land price was fixed at Rs300,000 per kanal while now the rate had been fixed at Rs15,000 per kanal, He termed it unjust.

He asked the speaker to constitute a committee to resolve the issue through talks and set the arrested landowners free.

The speaker adjourned the session till Friday.