PESHAWAR, Dec 31: The NWFP lawmakers on Wednesday expressed their dissatisfaction over the prevailing lawlessness and social injustices in the province and held the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government responsible for it, which according to them had failed to offer any relief to the people.

Abdul Akbar Khan of the People's Party Parliamentarians said that the MMA government had failed to make any legislation in the larger interest of the people confronted to the social injustices.

A fear-bound society could not guarantee the flourishing of peace and democracy, only dictators would employ it (fear) as weapon to intimidate their subjects, he added.

He said all the prevailing laws enforced in Pakistan and India were wrought out after the first war of independence in 1957 by the then British masters to inculcate fear into the minds of Indians, fighting for their freedom. "All laws based on fear to pave a way for dictatorship and not for the democracy", he added.

He said that the successive governments had failed to make any legislation for the service of the people, instead, dozen of laws had been promulgated to intimidate them.

Mr Khan said: "We spend Rs200 billion on national security and Rs20 billion on the entire social sector across the county, that has slowed the pace of our social development".

He underlined the need for making new legislation, guaranteeing the allocation and protection of development funds for the provision of health services and education for all citizens.

Opposition leader Shahzada Gastasip had stressed the effective enforcement of law, matching to the suitability of the local area and traditions, could root out crime from society.

He said it was the collective responsibility of the government and opposition to work for the maintenance of law and order in the province. He regretted that the chief minister, who was responsible for the law and order in the province, was absent from the House.

The MMA government, he said, had sent a group of imported police officials to Hazara and Malakand, who were strangers to the local traditions. These officials had some other objectives in their minds than having an aim of serving the people.

Bashir Ahmed Bilour of the Awami National Party held the MMA government responsible for the declining law and order situation in the province, which according to him had failed to arrest the tides of crime, unemployment and price-hike since it had come into power.

He said the opposition would not stop the MMA from striking a deal with the federal government on the legal framework order, but it would pressurise it to do something for the betterment of the general people.

Mushtaq Ghani of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) counted the blessings of military rulers which they bestowed upon the nation. He was unhappy over the politicization of the police force by the successive governments. He, however, suggested that a mechanism should be evolved to check the performance of the police.

Nighat Orakzai of the PML-Q told the House that the police were opposed to register FIRs of kidnapping, robbery and robbery. They considered it detrimental for their future, she added.