June 20, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

MUZAFFARABAD, June 19: AJK Legislative Assembly witnessed pandemonium for quite some time as it met here on Wednesday to initiate debate on the AJK budget for the fiscal year 2002-03.

After the recitation from the Holy Quran, opposition MLA Sardar Mohammad Hussain said on a point of order that since the recess of two days was not observed after the presentation of the budget, today’s (Wednesday’s) proceedings were not in accordance with the rules of procedure.

However, law minister Raja Nisar Ahmed Khan recalled that the current year’s budget had been passed within three hours after its presentation, and added that under rule 227 any member could move a motion with the consent of the speaker for suspension of any other rule. Therefore, he maintained, the proceedings were in accordance with the law and rules.

Speaker Sardar Siab Khalid also referred to a ruling by his predecessor, Chaudhry Abdul Majid, now sitting on the opposition benches, and noted that rules 127, 128 and 129 had been partially or totally suspended in the past to create room for debate on the budget.

Opposition’s Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf remarked that the speaker’s ruling was aimed at “bulldozing the opposition.” Another opposition legislator, Chaudhry Mohammad Rashid, said the ruling by Majid as speaker in June 2001 was given in different circumstances as the general elections in Azad Kashmir were at a distance of 17 days at that time.

However, the speaker did not budge from his stand and announced beginning of the question hour. But the opposition legislators refused to get answers of their questions printed on the agenda. Instead, they stood on their seats and started shouting and desk beating, which created a rumpus in the house giving it the looks of a fish market. This forced the speaker to order closure of their mikes.

The brief question hour continued amid dowdyism, during which the house was informed that the Naval Cadet College would be established in Muzaffarabad and the government had earmarked funds for the purchase of land for the purpose. As soon as the question hour finished, the speaker adjourned the session for half an hour.

During the gap, AJK finance minister Shah Ghulam Qadir and deputy speaker Sanaullah Qadri visited the opposition legislators in their chamber to persuade them to take part in the proceedings. Chaudhry Abdul Majid, who was leading the opposition, demanded that the government should give them certain assurances, one of them that the constituencies of the opposition MLAs would get equal share in development budget. The minister said the government wanted to take the opposition along with it and had no intention to create disparity between any area of the state. The opposition would get its due share, he said.

When the house resumed proceedings, finance minister reiterated his commitment made to the opposition members in their chamber, at the floor.

Later, the house started debate on the budget, which was opened by Sardar Mohammad Hussain as leader of the opposition. Barrister Sultan Mahmood could not turn up due to his engagements in Islamabad.

Hussain said the budget did not provide any remedy and solution to the ever-rising issue of unemployment. He said Rs500 million should have been earmarked for small and cottage industries, and added that the AJK police should be given privileges equivalent to the police in Punjab.

Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf of the opposition said there were many flaws in the budget and, therefore, it did not reflect public sentiments. “It is the bureaucracy’s budget, as it suggests no measures to cope with the menace of unemployment,” he said. He criticised the electricity department for faulty billing, and called for implementing police reforms.

Raja Sabeel from treasury benches congratulated the prime minister and finance minister for presenting the “best and exemplary” budget at this critical phase of the freedom movement. He said the government should make good of the happenings of the previous regime.

He also underscored the need of improving the performance of agriculture and animal husbandry departments.

The house also took up four identical resolutions on the situation obtaining in occupied Kashmir tabled by Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, Noreen Arif from the ruling party and Munir Awan and Chaudhry Mohammad Rashid from the opposition.

The speaker constituted a three-member committee, comprising Shah Ghulam Qadri, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq and Munir Awan, to draft a joint resolution to be discussed in the on-going session.