October 29, 2006	Sunday	Shawwal 5, 1427

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PESHAWAR, Oct 28: The provincial government has expressed its displeasure over unwarranted use of the Anti-Terrorism Act and assured the provincial assembly that it will not let police to apply this special law on routine crimes to harass people.

Responding to a point of order, NWFP Finance Minister Sirajul Haq said the ATA was a special law to deal with heinous crimes but police, in some districts, had applied it on routine crimes. He asked the Home Department to hold an inquiry into the matter and put an end to this unlawful practice.

Two of the six expelled MMA lawmakers — Raja Faisal Zaman and Rukhsana Raz – also attended the proceedings. Neither Speaker Bakht Jahan Khan, who was presiding over the session, nor any of other lawmaker welcomed them on their first day in the House. The chair allotted them new seats on treasury benches.

Earlier, Bashir Ahmed Bilour of the Awami National Party informed the House that scores of people who had staged demonstration against unscheduled and long spells of loadshedding in Tehkal village on the University Road had been charged under different sections of the ATA. He termed it ‘political victimisation’ of the Watan Dost group which contested elections against sitting nazims of three Peshawar towns.

He demanded convening of meetings of the Public Safety Commissions in three districts of Peshawar to check illegal activities of police.

Former deputy speaker Ikramullah Shahid said the Swat police had not spared even those who had voluntarily set their VCRs, DVDs and TV sets on fire to denounce the rising tide of obscenity across the district and charged them under the ATA.

In his hometown Mardan, he said, police had booked citizens, protesting against hours-long loadshedding spells, under the ATA. He said police were misusing the law to harass people.

The House admitted an adjournment motion tabled jointly by Abdul Akbar Khan of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians and Inamullah Shahid and Muzaffar Said of the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal to discuss miseries of the people living in flood affected villages of Charsadda, Mardan and Lower Dir whose losses had not been compensated even after lapse of many months.

The chair kept a call attention notice of Ikramullah Shahid about appointment of justices of peace in the NWFP pending till a time when provincial law minister would be present in the House.

Minister for Excise and Taxation Fazle Rabbani laid the Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006 and Minister for Irrigation and Power Hafiz Akhtar Ali the NWFP Hydel Development Fund (Amendment) Ordnance, 2006 before the House for approval.