June 23, 2006	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 26, 1427

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PESHAWAR, June 22: The NWFP Assembly through a unanimous resolution on Thursday called upon the centre to hand over Pesco to the province and said that generation and distribution of electricity had been a provincial subject before the creation of one unit in 1955.

Bashir Ahmed Bilour of the Awami National Party and Tajul Amin Jabbal of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal moved the joint resolution in the house, rejecting the proposed privatisation of the 12 power distribution companies, including Pesco, by Islamabad.

Speaking on the resolution, Mr Bilour informed the house that the federal government was planning to privatise all 12 power distribution companies on the pretext of granting them ‘financial autonomy’.

He said the NWFP would generate and distribute electricity before the formation of one-unit. However, after the break-up of the one-unit in 1970, the centre had not handed over control of electricity to the province.

Mr Bilour said that the federal government and centre were reluctant to make payment of net-hydel profit, defined in the AGN Kazi formula, to the province.

The ANP leader inquired as to how the provincial government would receive the net profit from a private owner of Pesco.

MMA lawmaker, Mr Jabbal, also speaking in support of the resolution, demanded the centre to end its control on Pesco and hand it over to the NWFP government. The house unanimously adopted the resolution.

The house also adopted another unanimous resolution demanding of the federal government to stop intervening in the affairs of text book boards, which were purely provincial concerns.

Abdul Akbar Khan of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians tabled the resolution. He said the text book board was a provincial subject but the Centre was meddling in its affairs.

He said if the Centre was not stopped from intervening in provincial affairs, it would start tampering with provincial rights.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Malik Zafar Azam on behalf of the NWFP chief minister laid the NWFP Ministers (Salaries Allowances and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill, 2006 in the house.

Opposition lawmakers wanted to speak on the 64 per cent raise in the perks and privileges of ministers and advisers but the chair turned down their request.

Earlier, resuming debate on the new budget, Sardar Israrullah Gandapur claimed that the budget was the creation of a troika, which comprised the chief minister, finance minister and finance secretary.

He said the government had not consulted with any opposition MPAs on the budget, which covered the demands of the entire province. He said the budget might be akin to nectar for MMA lawmakers but it was a pack of hollow promises for the people.