KP govt accused of framing laws in haste

PESHAWAR - Opposition parties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Tuesday accused the provincial government of passing three very important bills in haste and did not follow the set rules and traditions of the House.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly met with Speaker Asad Qaiser in the chair.
KP Minister for Agriculture Shahram Khan moved The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Farm Services Centers Bill, 2014, Minister for Health Shaukat Yousafzai presented The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety Authority Bill, 2014 and Revenue Minister Ali Amin Gandapur tabled The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tenancy (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
Though opposition did not protest against the first bill moved by Shahram Khan but recorded strong protest against the government for passing other bills as what they termed in 'hast'.
"Bulldozing legislation on the basis of majority is neither a good practice nor a tradition of the KP Assembly," ANP Parliamentary Leader Sardar Hussain Babak said. He urged the chair to take all stakeholders into confidence before making legislation.
Speaker Asad Qaisar, however, was quick enough to clarify that all opposition's amendments had been accommodated and he was treating every member equally. QWP Parliamentary Leader Sikandar Sherpao said that making legislation in haste would affect the people and their economy, suggesting the government to refer these bills to select committees for further deliberations.
On this occasion, KPK Information Minister Shah Farman replied that opposition earlier participated in discussion on important bills, including the Local Government and Right to Information Bills but it did not make any valuable addition to these bills. He said the government could not delay legislation, asking the opposition to present amendment if they had any.
KP Health Minister Shaukat Yousafzai said that the bill has been tabled in the assembly after thorough consideration. "If opposition sees any weakness, it must pinpoint to amend it," he added. Sardar Idrees of PTI said the bills had been tabled in January but none of the opposition member presented any amendment. The session was adjourned till today (Wednesday).
KP GOVT TAKES REVOLUTIONARY STEPS FOR MINORITIES' WELFARE:Advisor to Chief Minister for Minorities Affairs Sardar Suran Singh has said that the PTI government has taken revolutionary steps for the welfare of minorities in the province.
He expressed these views while hearing public complaints at the Chief Minister Complaints Cell. Chairman Complaints Cell Haji Dilroz Khan, Vice Chairman Mukarram Khan Afridi and Chief Security Officer to CM Zaibullah Khan also assisted him in the redressal of public complaints. Sardar Soran Singh till night besides receiving complaints on telephone, fax, post and email also collected direct complaints from the people and disposed of them under his own supervision.
The advisor said that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has recently increased employment quota of minorities from 0.5 per cent to 3 per cent and had also approved the recruitment of one minority officer in every district of the province. Similarly, a minority committee had also been constituted in each district under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner concerned to resolve the problems of minorities' representatives and employees through coordination.
He said for first time after passage of 25 years the portfolio of minorities was given to a minority legislator, which is the ample acknowledgment of the love, services and capabilities of minorities. Furthermore, he said that a separate working group had also been established for the development of minorities, whose comprehensive recommendations will be ensured.
He said that the establishment of a separate Directorate for Minorities Affairs and budget is also under consideration. On complaints received from Sheikhabad and other parts of the city relating to cleanliness, he directed the Municipal Corporation Peshawar for taking action with immediate effect. Similarly, on a complaint regarding non- operationalisation of a tube-well despite completion from Totalai, Buner, he contacted the Executive Engineer (XEN) concerned and asked explanation from him.
The XEN assured that the provision of water from the tube-well would start from next week. Taking notice of the complaints of cheatings in some examination halls, he directed the boards concerned for initiating immediate action and conduct of raids. On complaints relating to gas, power connections and National Identity Cards (NICs), he said though these complaints are regarding federal departments, but he will contact the authorities concerned and will make request for their redressal.