Agenda, SOPs finalised for budget session of KP Assembly

PESHAWAR: Agenda and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the forthcoming budget session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly were discussed and finalised at a meeting held here on Friday.

Speaker Mushtaq Ghani on presided over the meeting of ministers and parliamentary leaders of different political parties.

The participants offered Fateha for Members National Assembly (MNAs), Members Provincial Assembly (MPAs), journalists, doctors and health workers who died of Covid-19. Agenda for the budget session of the assembly to be started from June 19 was finalised with consensus. It was agreed that all MPAs’ corona test shall be conducted before the setting was started and they will be allowed after clearance of the test.

It was also decided that except for driver other staff, including gunmen, will not be allowed to accompany the MPAs. All members will be seated in the guest galleries with suitable distance while wearing face mask. The session starting from June 19 will continue till 28 with a break on 20 and 21 June. Saturday and Sunday will be off and setting will be daily for three hours from 2pm to 5pm. It was also agreed that parliamentary leaders may speak for 15 minutes and MPAs for five minutes to save wastage of time. All kind of entertainment will be banned and MPAs attending the budget session will have to strictly follow the SOPs. Those who attended the meeting were Sultan Muhammad, Shaukat Yousufzai, amran Bangash, Taimoor Salim Jhagra and Akbar Ayub from government side and Maulana Lutfar Rehman, Sher Azam Wazir, Sardar Hussain Babak, Sardar M Yousaf, Mufti Ubaidur Rehman and Bilawal Afridi from the opposition.