Ehtesab Commission (amendment) Bill tabled in KP Assembly

Babak terms KP govt performance  worst; Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli says BoK scam
report to be presented in house

PESHAWAR: Finally the much-awaited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (amendment) Bill, 2016 was tabled in the provincial assembly as the opposition challenged the government claims of transparency and good governance in the province.

Law Minister Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi presented the bill, which according to the agenda was to be passed from the house. But the minister requested Deputy Speaker Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, who presided over the session, to refer the bill to the select committee so that any amendments proposed by the opposition could be adjusted instead of passing the bill in a hurry. The speaker referred the bill to the select committee.

Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak on a point of order criticised the government’s performance and said it had failed to deliver.He termed the three-year performance of the government as worst in the history of the province.

He added that officers of the Provincial Management Service were on strike and teachers and local government representatives were holding protests. He claimed there were no funds to pay the salaries of government employees.

He asked why the government was reluctant to bring its own MPA and ex-minister Ziaullah Afridi, who is in jail, to the assembly.He challenged the claims of good governance and accountability. Sardar Hussain Babak asked said why the issue of the Bank of Khyber (BoK) was put on the back-burner and the inquiry report about the alleged irregularities in the bank was not presented in the assembly.

He urged the government to bring to justice the corrupt if it had any proof. He said the government should not make the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission a toothless body.Sardar Hussain Babak said that the Bok scandal should be probed through a judicial commission instead of a ministerial committee.

He alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to privatise the Bank of Khyber and the bank was being sold to someone from Karachi.However, Minister for Mines and Labour Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli said the report of the inquiry committee about Bank of Khyber scandal was submitted to the cabinet and it would soon be presented in the house.

Senior Minister Inayatullah categorically dismissed the impression that BoK was being privatised. He said that former minister Ziaullah Afridi was brought to the house from prison and was given the chance to present his point of view.

The minister said the budget shortfall was because of the federal government as 90 percent of the budget of the province depended on funds from the Centre.

He said the federal government owed Rs 70 billion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on account of its share in the net hydel profit and this money wasn’t being paid. However, he added that the federal government had promised to release Rs25 billion. He added that there would be no cut in the funds of the local governments.

Education Minister Atif Khan said the provincial government faced budget deficit because the federal government was not releasing funds to it. He said the provincial budget depended 90 percent on the release of money from the centre.

The minister said that Bank of Khyber was not being sold. He also assured the house that the issue of the PMS officers would be resolved till Monday as a committee was holding talks with them.

Replying to the allegations of Awami National Party’s Sardar Hussain Babak, he said there was no ‘Easyload or SMS’ scandal against the PTI-led government.

He asked how could a former special assistant, Syed Masoom Shah, pay Rs250 million as plea bargain if the Awami National Party-led previous government was so transparent?

He said the Amnesty International had declared the ANP-PPP government in 2012 as the most corrupt.

He said the Amnesty International, PILDAT and other independent organisations adjudged the incumbent PTI-led government the best in all the provinces.

Earlier, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) parliamentary leader Muhammad Ali Shah on a call attention notice diverted the attention of the house towards irregularities in recruitment of class-IV employees in the Irrigation Department.

He alleged that executive engineer in the Irrigation Department had appointed 20 class-IV employees in his constituency in violation of relevant rules.

Asking the speaker to refer the matter to the concerned committee, the MPA claimed that he would prove that 80 percent of the employees were recruited after taking bribe.

Sardar Hussain Babak, Jamshed Khan and Munawar Khan also supported the demand of Muhammad Ali Shah to refer the matter to the committee.

Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli argued that the matter should be delayed till Monday as the concerned minister was not present, but on the insistence of the mover the speaker referred the matter to the committee.

The law minister also tabled the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare (amendment) Ordinance, 2016 in the assembly.The speaker adjourned the session till 3pm on Monday.