Opposition condemns KP government for poor law, order

PESHAWAR: The opposition in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday lashed out at the government for the poor law and order situation in the province and termed the state and its institutions responsible for the recent terrorist attacks.

They said the government framed policies but failed to implement them, adding that facts were kept hidden from public representatives.

Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) parliamentary leader Sikandar Hayat Sherpao through an adjournment motion pleaded suspension of the agenda to allow the House to debate the recent attack at the Agriculture Training Institute in Peshawar.

Initiating the debate, he said the country in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in particular had been facing the worst law and order for two decades.

He said the recent terror incidents had further aggravated the situation, but the federal and provincial governments were grappling with non-issues.

Sikandar Sherpao, who is a former provincial minister, said that the law-enforcers and general public had rendered unmatched sacrifices, but the government was not serious to take steps to rectify the situation.

He said that incidents of kidnapping for ransom and extortion had also registered a sharp increase.

He pointed out that one may well ask as to why the state institutions had been unable to foil the designs of the terrorists, who were always one step ahead of the law-enforcers.

Taking part in the debate, opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rahman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) said the terrorists were gaining strength due to the wrong policies of the government.

He said decisions made in the House were not being implemented and the people had to suffer and bear the brunt of terrorism.

The JUI-F lawmaker said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership claimed that it had depoliticised the police force, but people were tortured at police stations.

The next general election should be held on time so that democracy could flourish, he added.

Nighat Orakzai of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said the government’s writ was shrinking as activists of banned organisations were challenging the law-enforcement agencies.

She said Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami head Maulana Samiul Haq had claimed that the Taliban were his sons who were fighting for freedom.

“The Maulana should be asked from whom his ‘children’ were seeking freedom,” she maintained.

Nighat Orakzai asked as to why the 16 closed-circuit television cameras weren’t working at the time of the terrorist attack at the Agriculture Training Institute.

She also asked that why the report about the killing of provincial minister Israrullah Gandapur was not being made public.

Shaukat Yusufzai of PTI claimed that law and order in the province had improved due to the steps taken by the government.

He believed that the occurrence of terror incidents in KP cannot be controlled due to the presence of the Indian spy agencies in Afghanistan.

Asserting that only the KP government was implementing the National Action Plan, he said the police had foiled several acts of sabotage in the province.

Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak called for a judicial probe into the Agriculture Training Institute attack and said its video showed as if the terrorists enjoyed protocol.

He said that one may well ask as how and why the police and army soldiers reached late and who closed the main gate.

The ANP lawmaker said that state institutions had failed to protect the people even though the police rendered great sacrifices.

He demanded that investigation the report of the Agriculture Training Institute attack should be made public.

The opposition lawmakers protested the absence of senior police officers in the House during the debate on the issue of law and order.

There was no officer from the Home Department and only an official of DSP rank was present when the issue was debated.

Pinpointing the issue, Nighat Orakzai said it was so ironic that only 10 out of 70 treasury members were present in the House.

Deputy Speaker Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, who chaired the session, announced that a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) was representing the police force. It infuriated the opposition.

The opposition members said it was an insult to the House that a DSP was representing the force despite the fact that a serious issue was under discussion.

Following the opposition’s protest, Information Minister Shah Farman called an officer of the Home Department and also Senior Superintendent of Police (Operation) Sajjad Khan who reached the assembly.

The members from treasury and opposition protested US President Donald Trump’s announcement of shifting the US Embassy to Jerusalem and termed it a declaration of war against the Muslim Ummah.

They said that Trump’s decision would further aggravate the situation and hobble the efforts for bringing peace in the region. Later, the deputy speaker adjourned the proceedings of the assembly till Monday due to lack of quorum.