Delay in CM’s meeting with Imran echoes in KP Assembly

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday witnessed a heated debate over the delay in the expected meeting between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi, which has consequently delayed the formation of the provincial cabinet.

Speaker Babar Saleem Swati chaired the session, during which the House also passed a unanimous resolution condemning atrocities in Indian-held Kashmir and expressing solidarity with the Kashmiri people.

The resolution urged the federal government to continue its moral, diplomatic, and political support for the freedom struggle of the people of Indian-held Kashmir. Following the election of Sohail Afridi as the new Leader of the House and Chief Minister, the provincial cabinet was dissolved. As a result, there are currently no provincial ministers, advisers, or special assistants to the chief minister to respond to lawmakers’ questions and criticism on the assembly floor.

Pakistan People’s Party parliamentary leader Ahmad Karim Kundi said that the ruling party should not delay the formation of the provincial cabinet, as no one from the treasury benches was taking responsibility for responding to the opposition’s queries.

“At least two or three MPAs from the ruling party should be inducted as provincial ministers to run the government’s affairs,” he said, adding that the PTI chairman could approve the formation of the cabinet without meeting the chief minister in jail.

Awami National Party MPA Arbab Usman Khan said the delay in forming the cabinet had not only affected governance and the performance of provincial departments but also disrupted the assembly’s routine business.

“If there are no provincial ministers or advisers, then the secretaries of the provincial departments must attend to the assembly’s business,” he said, urging the immediate formation of the cabinet.

Adnan Khan of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam–Fazl said that the meeting between Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and the party chairman inside the jail was both a constitutional and legal right, representing the essence of true democracy. However, he claimed that the federal government and certain elements were creating hurdles to prevent this meeting.

PTI MPA from Abbottabad Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself had phoned and assured Sohail Afridi that he would facilitate his meeting with Imran Khan inside Adiala Jail. “It seems, however, that the prime minister is powerless before some powerful elements who actually run the affairs of the country,” he remarked.

“We hold the federal government responsible for the delay in forming the provincial cabinet, as obtaining guidance and approval from the party chairman is the democratic right of the chief minister,” he added.

The provincial assembly also approved amendments to the Rules of Business, adding Gojri as one of the official languages that may be spoken on the assembly floor. Under the newly introduced rules, Hindko and Saraiki have also been included among the official languages of the KP Assembly, in addition to Pashto, English, and Urdu.

The House further passed a unanimous resolution opposing the operation in parts of Bajaur district and the displacement of the local population due to the security forces’ operation in Mamund tehsil. The resolution, tabled by ruling party MPA Dr Hamid Ur Rehman from Bajaur, was approved unanimously.