21 MPAs-elect from merged districts to take oath tomorrow

PESHAWAR: The newly elected lawmakers from the merged tribal districts would take oath when the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly meets on Tuesday.

With the election of 16 MPAs elected on general seats, four on those reserved for women and one for minorities, the number of provincial assembly seats has reached 145 from 124. The assembly secretariat has already completed seating arrangements for the newly elected members and the process of registration has already been done. The MPAs would sign the attendance roll after taking oath.

The oath-taking of lawmakers from tribal districts would happen after almost five weeks of their election. The oath-taking of the new MPAs could not take place on August 5 and the session was prorogued sine die. They had to wait for a month when the session was summoned on the requisition by opposition lawmakers.

The requisition signed by 36 opposition members was submitted in the assembly secretariat after Eidul Azha. Independent observers saw the delay in the oath-taking of the newly elected members as an expression of non-satisfaction by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government over the election results.

The lawmakers from the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) would become part of the provincial assembly for the first time after merger of the tribal areas with KP in May last year.

Though seats have been created for the new lawmakers in the Assembly Hall, providing them accommodation was a challenge. Some of them would be accommodated in the Shahi Mehmankhana, the government guesthouse, as the MPAs Hostel is short of rooms.

The ruling PTI had bagged five seats, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) three and Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) one each of the total 16 seats. In six constituencies, independent candidates were declared successful. Three of the independents later joined the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and two PTI. One Mir Kalam Khan has decided to stay independentthough he said in a recent interview that he was affiliated with Mahmood Khan Achakzai's Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.

Entering the provincial legislature and raising issues of the tribal districts would be a new experience for the elected public representatives from the tribal districts. But at the same time, it would be a test of their capabilities and wisdom for solving the problems of the electorate.

Most of them are newcomers in active electoral politics and young and they would have to follow the senior lawmakers, especially those from the opposition parties. It depends on their level of learning of parliamentary business. Keeping remaining silent would leave bad impact on their voters. The uplift of their constituencies could suffer as the tribal areas lag far behind in terms of development.

Although those from the opposition parties like JUI-F, JI and ANP might face problems in getting development funds compared to those affiliated with the PTI, they can at least raise the issues of their constituencies with guidance from party colleagues.