06 October 2004	Wednesday	20 Shaban 1425

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PESHAWAR, Oct 5: The NWFP assembly unanimously adopted the Frontier Women University Act, 2004, when the session requisitioned by the combined opposition resumed its proceedings after a 15-day break on Tuesday.

The step will pave way for the establishment of the first gender-based university in the country. The bill was presented before the house on July 5. Some members called for deferring the bill for a few days so that it could be studied clause-by-clause. They asked why the education minister was in a hurry to get it passed.

Abdul Akbar Khan of the People's Party Parliamentarians sought to bring an amendment to clause 9. He inquired that who would be the vice-chancellor of the varsity, a man or a woman. He said that according to the Act the education minister would be the pro-vice chancellor but he pointed out that the minister was not a member of the varsity senate.

The PPP leader asked the government as to what would be the recruitment criteria for the university and who would make appointments to key positions. He said the members should be allowed time to study it, but the education minister said he was open to take any suggestion on the proposed law.

Later, on the request of the mover the house approved he bill unanimously. Also, the house admitted an adjournment motion jointly moved by Mr Akbar Khan and Zakirullah Khan of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal regarding non-payment of Rs2 billion by Wapda to the provincial government, which might hinder execution of development projects included in the current budget.

Mr Akbar Khan said the federal government/Wapda had enhanced the capped amount from Rs6 billion (net hydel profit) to Rs8 billion this year. But, he regretted, the centre had not paid the increased amount (Rs2 billion) to the province yet.

The NWFP government, he pointed out, had included development schemes worth Rs2 billion in the annual development programme for 2004-05. On the other hand, he said, senior Wapda officials had indicated through the press that they would not pay a single penny beyond the capped amount of Rs6 billion as the federal government had not notified them about the payment of an additional Rs2 amount. Obviously, he said, the ADP would be badly affected if the expected amount did not come from Wapda.

MPA Dr Zakirullah then rose to demand that the chair should admit the motion and allow the house to find out who was responsible for the uncertainty the ADP was faced with. The speaker admitted the adjournment motion for debate.

Speaking on a point of order, Maulana Mujahidul Hussaini drew the attention of the house to the 'exploitation' of the Nowshera Municipal Committee (NMC) employees, who had not been paid salaries for the last three months.

Local Government Minister Sardar Idrees said the government had paid about Rs2 million to the NMC for payment of salaries. He said municipalities that had 'surplus' employees were plagued with such problems.

MPA Tahir Bin Yamin, on a point of order, asked the government to release development funds to the Tank municipal committee. Awami National Party's Bashir Bilour, referring to the protest demonstration staged by the employees of Swat Ceramics outside the assembly building, asked the government to force the employers to pay salaries to the protesting workers.

He said the government had observed a 'Salam Teachers Day' on Oct 5 but in fact teachers were being exploited by the ill-mannered owners of private schools who were not promoting education but running the institutions like any other business. Later, the speaker adjourned the house till Wednesday.