KP PA debates Rs5.8 million misappropriation from Zakat fund

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani on Friday directed the Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Higher Education, Kamran Bangash, to constitute a committee for holding negotiations with the protesting university employees.

Mushtaq Ghani said the government was aware of the protest and the genuine demands could be solved through talks. Shagufta Malik of Awami National Party (ANP) raised the issue and said the university employees from Class-IV to professors were on strike but the government instead of holding talks baton charged them. She said they should be engaged in talks to resolve the issue.Earlier, Sahibzada Sanaullah of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on a call attention notice sought clarification about Malala Yousafzai’s interview and said the government should conduct an inquiry to know the facts. He said the issue had gone viral on social media and mainstream media and contents of the interview if true as reported were not tolerable for a Muslim and if wrong then the discussion should be stopped.

Supporting his point, Inayatullah Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) said Malala was a Nobel prize laureate and famous for working for girls education but her interview had created doubts. He said her parents should clarify the situation whether it was just a slip of the tongue or her words were distorted.

Nisar Mohmand of ANP said Malala Yousafzai was being targeted through a conspiracy and her father had clarified that her words were distorted. PTI’s Ziaullah Bangash said some words were made controversial and the interview words were not taken in real context but misinterpreted. To her question about Zakat funds utilization and Inayatullah Khan’s allegations of misappropriation, the House was told that there were complaints of irregularities.

On a supplementary question by Inayatullah that there were allegations of Rs5.8 million misappropriation in Zakat fund in Upper Dir, Minister for Zakat and Usher Anwar Zaib Khan admitted that he had received information about irregularities in Zakat fund in Mohmand, Upper Dir and other areas for which inquiry be held and reforms introduced in the Zakat system.

The question was referred to the committee concerned. The House continued debate on budget suggestions. The speaker had to adjourn the session till Monday when Ayesha Bano of PTI pointed out the lack of quorum when Nisar Mohmand of the ANP wanted to speak. This created rumpus in the House.