Opposition in KP Assembly questions trend of rushing legislation 

PESHAWAR: The members of the opposition benches in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday questioned the trend of rushing legislation through the House by the treasury benches.

The opposition lawmakers maintained that proper debates and briefings should be held before the passage of a bill in the House. A total of 26 items, including a question-hour, was on the agenda in the provincial assembly session. The assembly completed its four years since the general election was held in May 2013.

Speaker Asad Qaiser, who presided over the session, congratulated the provincial assembly members on the completion of the parliamentary year.

He said that 37 bills were tabled in the current parliamentary year of which 29 were approved. "I hope we will complete the five-year tenure of the current assembly," he added.

However, opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl said that treasury benches wanted to take credit for approving maximum number of bills and were tabling more resolutions in the House. "We must discuss each and every aspect of a bill as legislation is a serious job," he said. He added that almost all members of the provincial assembly had seen the procedure of the Scottish Parliament, where a bill took at least six months for its approval from the House.

The parliamentary leader of Awami National Party, Sardar Hussain Babak, said that a minister, advisor or parliamentary secretary should brief the House about the amendments to a bill as majority of the members didn't have its original text. "I can say with authority that except for a few lawmakers, most of the members don't know that what kind of amendment is being brought in a bill," he said.

Sardar Hussain added that a member responded with 'yes or no' to a bill under compulsion when it was moved in the House.

Abdul Sattar Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said the Ehtesab Act was an example of urgency in legislation by the government as the treasury benches brought amendments to it for more than three times but this piece of legislation was yet to be considered perfect. "Even the ministers don't know about the amendments being made to a bill," he claimed. He asked the Chair that debate and discussion should be held in the House and the concerned standing committees before the passage of a bill.

Earlier, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms (amendment) Bill, 2017. The provincial assembly also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation (amendment) Bill, 2017, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Establishment of Information Technology Board (amendment) Bill.

Minister for Education Atif Khan also tabled a bill in the House about private schools in the province.