PESHAWAR, May 15: The NWFP assembly adopted a unanimous resolution on Monday, calling upon the federal government to shift Wapda headquarters from Lahore to Peshawar and give all rights guaranteed under the Constitution to the province.
The resolution was jointly moved by Abdul Akbar Khan of the PPP Parliamentarians, Bashir Ahmed Bilour of the ANP and Fazale Rabbani and Muzaffar Said of the MMA after a debate on an adjournment motion labeled by Mr Said against loadshedding, over-billing and imposition of fine on consumers by Wapda.
The house converted the motion into a joint resolution, asking Islamabad to transfer all constitutional powers regarding transmission and distribution of electricity and levy of tax on power consumption within the province and fixation of power tariff for other provinces.
Abdul Akbar told the treasury benches that if they took up the issue of provincial rights with the Centre, all the opposition parties would support them.
Bashir Bilour said the government granted Rs12 billion to the KESC every year to cover up its losses but residents of the NWFP, which generated bulk of the electricity, had no respite from loadshedding. He alleged that it was not loadshedding but “load-management aimed at covering up line losses”.
Provincial minister Akhtar Nawaz Khan said that the people affected by the Tarbela Dam faced a miserable situation owing to long spells of power outage in Haripur. He demanded a similar relief package for them as was offered to the people displaced by Mangla Dam project.
Senior Minister Sirajul Haq supported the resolution and asked the movers to include a demand regarding payment of dues to the NWFP. After debates, the House unanimously adopted the resolution.
The assembly constituted a seven-member committee to look into the issue raised by six MMA lawmakers regarding ban on organising religious lectures inside the University of Peshawar. Some women legislators said that the university administration had placed ban on holding of Quranic lectures.
