PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami provincial head Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, said on Sunday that big parties made a big deal over the Army Act and used their supporters and voters for personal interests.
Speaking at a press conference, he said that the way legislation was done in the case of the Army Act would weaken the institutions and the executive would lose its powers.
The legislation was done in so much haste under severe pressure that it is unprecedented in the parliamentary history, he said.
“The content of the law is also very strange. We have raised our principled voice against it in the parliament. We are not against any individual but the legislation should not be made under fear, pressure and for serving the interests of some individuals,” he said.
Provincial secretary general of the party Abdul Wasi, member provincial assembly from Bajaur district Sirajuddin Khan, former member National Assembly Sahibzada Haroonur Rashid, JI provincial information secretary Mian Suhaibuddin Kakakhel and others were also present on the occasion.
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan strongly criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government both in the centre and the province for what he said usurping the rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its newly merged districts. He said the government has badly failed on all fronts and practically there was “no governance” in the country.
He announced to convene an All Parties Conference (APC) on January 29 wherein all the political parties would be invited to work out a united plan for achieving the rights of the province. He was of the opinion that severe excesses have been inflicted on KP and its 35 million people. "All the genuine rights of the Pakhtun-dominated province are being usurped at a time when PTI is enjoying a strong position both in the Centre and the province, which is quite rare in the political history of KP," he added. Counting the provincial rights one by one, which have been denied to the province so far, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said that the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award could not be issued last year and the government was not willing to issue it this year too. "This is a serious injustice with smaller provinces," he added.
Gas royalty was another big issue faced by KP, he said, adding, despite the major gas producing province, people are facing severe load-shedding and low pressure of gas. Also, due royalty of gas was not being paid to the province, he added.
He said the Centre owed KP Rs450 billion as share in the net hydel profit but the federal government has been using delaying tactics to give the amount to the province. More serious, he said, was the fact that chief minister of the province has been unable to take up the issue in the meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI), which decided to form a committee that could generate funds for the provincial share in the net profit.
“This is strange. The federal government has already collected the amount. Now it would impose taxes on the people of the province for payment of their own share. This is wrong and illegal,” he stressed. He also expressed serious concern over the late formation of the CCI. According to the constitution, this forum should have been formed within 40 days of the government but it was delayed by 18 months, he said.
He further said the province had also been badly ignored in the Public Sector Development Plan (PSDP) and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as no mega project was underway anywhere in the province.
The JI leader also criticised the government for its lack of interest in the development of the merged districts. The government announced funds worth Rs100 billion for the merged districts, merger of the Levies force with police and infrastructural development in the tribal district. But so far, nothing could be done there, which has aggravated the sense of deprivation among the people hailing from these areas.