'Unequal' allocation of funds criticized - NWFP Assembly debate
By Mohammed Riaz
PESHAWAR, Jan 17: The lawmakers from both sides of the divide in the NWFP assembly on Monday criticized the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government for what they saw as "unequal distribution" of development funds to them during the current fiscal year.
Maulana Abdur Rehman, MMA MPA from Chitral, drew the attention of the house to this point, and alleged that the decision-makers had ignored their districts in the annual development programme.
However, the Maulana expressed his satisfaction on a written reply of the planning and development department, but not before opening a Pandora's Box and shoving his own party into troubled waters.
Speaking on the issue, Abdul Akbar Khan of People's Party Parliamentarians said the biggest chunk of the ADP had been diverted to Bannu, the home district of Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani.
He said the government had allocated Rs1546.430 million, or 12.4 per cent of the ADP, to Bannu alone. He asked senior minister Sirajul Haq to explain whether it was the teaching of Islam or the programme of the MMA to pour all funds into one or two districts and ignore all others. The lawmakers from both sides endorsed the stand of Mr Khan, who highlighted the perceived disparity in funds allocation.
Anwar Kamal Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) said the MMA government was not ready to correct its political blunders. The MMA leadership still claimed that everybody had been treated on equal footing, but the ADP gave a different picture, he added.
He said Bannu, a small district with four provincial assembly seats, had been allocated Rs1546.430 million while Peshawar, the provincial capital, was earmarked only Rs1220.432 million, or 10 per cent of the ADP. He said that no other government had meted out such a treatment to its capital.
Jamshid Khan of the PPP (Sherpao) said that the constituencies of Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan and MPA Habibur Rehman, who also hailed from Buner, had been given adequate funds but his constituency had completely been ignored.
MMA's Amirzada Khan from Swat also pointed out the disparity in funds allocation. "How the government would promote tourism which had ignored a picturesque resort like Swat," he queried.
He said that his district, which had seven MPAs, had been allocated only Rs403 million, while Bannu, with only four MPAs, had been given huge funds. MMA's Nadir Shah from Mardan said that a meagre allocation to his district had exposed the disparity in funds apportionment. He regretted that his constituency was given meagre funds even though he belonged to the ruling party.
Hitting out at what he called the step-motherly treatment meted out to Peshawar, Syed Zahir Ali Shah, a PPP MPA, said the government had denied the provincial capital its due share.
He said Peshawar gave appearance of a wasteland but the MMA government "wanted us" to praise their ADP. PPP (Sherpao)'s Makhdoom Murid Kazim said the government had ignored D.I. Khan, the home district of MMA's general-secretary, Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Awami National Party's Syed Qalb-i-Hassan said that his constituency, Kohat City, had been similarly disregarded. Another MPA from Hangu, Atiqur Rehman, spoke of the plight of his constituency.
Summing up the debate, senior minister Sirajul Haq defended his government's ADP, saying that every district had been treated on equal footing. He denied that the MMA government had ignored any of the districts.
He said all the districts, including Bunnu, Mardan, Peshawar, and Mansehra, had been given sufficient funds. PPP's Abdul Akbar Khan said that Chief Minister Durrani had implemented the Shariat and diverted all funds to his district.
The house adopted two identical resolutions unanimously, urging the federal government to refrain from using force in Balochistan and seek instead a solution to the problem through peaceful means.
ANP's Bashir Ahmad Bilour, who tabled the first resolution, said that in 1971 the military rulers had used force which resulted in a debacle. "Today they are talking in the same tone, which is not good for the solidarity of the country," he said.
This house, he said, "asks the federal government to resolve the problems through peaceful means of negotiations and avoid the use of force". The resolution tabled by Nadir Shah of MMA said the resolution of Balochistan's problems should be found in non-military means and the matter of NFC should be resolved quickly. The resolutions were put to vote and the house passed them unanimously.
