June 2, 2003	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 1: Awami National Party (ANP) Vice-president Haji Mohammad Adeel has asked the federal government to ensure payment of NWFP’s remaining share from the net annual profit of Wapda before the end of June.

So far, he said, only about Rs4 billion from the provincial share for the year had been paid while Rs16 billion was outstanding.

Speaking at a news conference at Frontier House here on Saturday, the ANP leader said that according to the military government’s calculations on the basis of 1991 accord and AGN Kazi formula, Wapda was bound to pay to the province an outstanding amount of Rs298 billion, due since 1991, till year 2000.

He also demanded payment of Rs4 billion taxation income to the province from the NWFP’s tobacco production, as was done in the case of petroleum products and some of cash crops in other provinces.

Mr Adeel also pointed out that the provincial share in the divisible pool, which was cut to 37.5 per cent against 62.5 per cent of the Centre from 80-20 formula during Meraj Khalid’s interim government, should be revised to 50-50.

He asserted that the latest proposal of increasing provincial share to 40 per cent had been outrightly rejected by the smaller provinces.

Replying to a question about the controversy over the Legal Framework Order (LFO), the ANP leader said that though his party was against amendments to the Constitution by any individual, it would not join any opposition headed by Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani.

He denied the allegation that the party withdrew its support from the military regime after Azam Hoti was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau.

Referring to recently passed Shariat bill in the NWFP Assembly, Adeel termed it an extra-constitutional step since, according to him, the contents of this bill were already part of 1973 Constitution.

However, he ridiculed Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government’s failure in implementing the CII recommendations vis-a-vis in waiving off tax on residential houses, arms and double taxation as he said these taxes were still being charged, despite a unanimous resolution passed by the assembly against it.

The MMA’s promise of turning Governor’s House and Chief Minister’s House into girls college and university respectively was still not fulfilled whereas the chief minister was maintaining three official houses in Peshawar and one in Bannu (his hometown).

The provincial ministers belonging to Jamaat-i-Islami, he said, had promised not to use new staff cars in the beginning, but now everyone of them was using brand new vehicles and residing in government bungalows, and those living in their own houses were charging Rs18,000 house rent per month.

He also strongly criticized the new judicial system being introduced in the name of “Hasba”.