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| June 23, 2003 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 22,1424 |
Conflict with Centre to be avoided: minister
PESHAWAR, June 22: Senior Minister of NWFP Sirajul Haq on Saturday said the MMA government did not want any confrontation with the federal government but regretted that the latter was dragging its feet on the net profits from hydel generation.
“We would like to resolve all issues through talks. But the trouble is that whatever we get of the net profits is through constant wailing and lamentations,” he told newsmen here.
Mr Haq said the net profits payment was erratic and irregular. He said the payments were made at the end of a financial year and that too after frequent reminders and requests.
The Wapda, he said, owed Rs 300 billion on account of arrears of net profits which, he said, if paid could help the NWFP retire its entire debt and undertake developmental schemes.
The provincial government, he said, had utilized all courses available to it to get the issue resolved with the federal government. “We have written letters and approached all concerned authorities for the resolution of the long-standing issue but to no avail.”
The NWFP assembly, he said, had also passed several resolutions on the subject. The treasury and opposition benches, he said, had staged a walkout to protest the attitude of the federal government in lingering the issue. “The issue is about providing relief to the common man. How can we do it when we don’t have the resources due to us by Wapda,” he remarked.
The senior minister also criticized those making an issue out of dismantling of sign boards in Peshawar. Describing the incident as an act of a few individuals and not that of the MMA government, the minister claimed that the law and order situation in the province was far better than the rest of provinces. “Nobody was hurt in the sign board incidents. In Balochistan, a DIG was killed and several policemen were gunned down. The situation in the Punjab and Sindh is not that good either.”
He said the issue about shalwar and qameez too was blown out of proportion. “It was a proposal by a member to bring uniformity in school uniform both in the public and private sector. “No dress is haram or halal.”
He thought that the issue was about the rule of law and merit which, he insisted, if implemented would resolve quite a few issues.
The minister also highlighted salient features of the budget, particularly the steps to provide free books and uniform to girl students and the setting up an endowment fund for poor patients suffering from deadly diseases.
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