KP Assembly passes Ehtesab Commission Bill 2018

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday passed the KP Ehtesab Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2018 paving the way for closing the anti-graft body which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial government had established through an act in 2014.

The House also adopted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Continuation of Laws in Erstwhile Provincially Administered Tribal Areas Bill, 2018 amid objection by the opposition.Criticising the government, the opposition lawmakers said why millions of rupees were wasted on establishing the Ehtesab Commission when PTI was not serious about accountability and had created it for pressuring its political opponents.

Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak said the government should seek apology from the nation and publicly accept its failure.“The province has been turned into a laboratory and laws are being enacted in haste,” he said, adding, legislation needed collective wisdom and laws should be made for the benefit of the entire province. Malik Zafar Azam of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) while objecting to the repeal of the Ehtesab Commission said a huge amount was spent on it and the result was zero.

“What would be the fate of references and inquiries initiated by the commission,” he asked. He argued that handing over corruption cases to the Anti-Corruption Establishment instead of the court would mean reversal to the 1961 laws.

Earlier, speaking on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Continuation of Laws in Erstwhile Provincially Administered Tribal Areas Bill, Malik Zafar Azam said the bill was deferred for consultation with the opposition but no consultation was made and it was again introduced in the assembly.

He said the law minister should not turn the House into a primary school and ought to take legislation seriously.He felt there was something new that was being imposed in Malakand division for which the law was being passed. He said the opposition would not become part of the legislation.

Malik Zafar Azam said two types of laws were already in practice in the area and implementing the new legislation would create problems.Inayatullah of Jamaat-e-Islami also opposed the bill, saying members should be briefed so that anything in violation of basic human rights was not extended to the former Pata.

He said the lawmakers from Malakand division, particularly the opposition, would not support the legislation in a hurry without consultation. He left the House before the bill was presented for its passage from the House.