November 02, 2006	Thursday	Shawwal 9, 1427

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PESHAWAR, Nov 1: The NWFP assembly through a majority vote on Wednesday criticised the federal government for stopping some leaders from going to Bajaur to offer condolences to the families of the seminary students killed in the air strike on Monday.

Abdul Akbar Khan of the People’s Party Parliamentarians, Mohammad Amin and Amanat Ali Shah of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and Mian Nisar Gul of Tehrik-i-Insaf moved the resolution against what they called the dictatorial attitude of the federal government.

Those prevented from going to Bajaur were MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Jamaat-i-Islami’s provincial Amir Sirajul Haq and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s provincial secretary Maulana Shujaul Mulk, MNA.

Mr Akbar Khan said it was unjust to stop politicians from going to an area which is part of the country. He said PPP had been calling upon the rulers to allow political activities in Fata as political process was the only way to bring tribesmen to mainstream.

Mr Shah criticised Gen Pervez Musharraf for dubbing the ‘martyred students’ militants and their seminary a terrorist training facility.

He said Gen Musharraf had called the MMA leaders and people of Bajaur ‘liars’ and added that his ‘condemnable stance’ would not be tolerated.

Mr Gul said they were not even allowed to condole with bereaved families. He said the present crisis was an outcome of policies framed by rulers after the 9/11 attacks.

He called for a change in the state of affairs and underlined the need for “liberating the country from the clutches of foreign powers”.

Earlier, Dr Zakirullah Khan of the MMA asked the chair to constitute a committee which should investigate the incident to determine as to who was responsible for the Bajaur massacre.

Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan asked that in a situation where Fata MNAs, senators and heads of political parties were denied entry into Bajaur who would allow MPAs to hold an inquiry into the tragic incident?

ADJOURNMENT MOTIONS: The house admitted identical adjournment motions tabled by Mohammad Amin and Amirzada Khan about the substandard material used in the construction of Malakand Road.

They expressed concern on the slow-paced work and asked the chair to admit their adjournment motions for a debate.

Information Minister Asif Iqbal, who spoke on behalf of the chief minister, failed to satisfy the movers.

The chair admitted the motions for discussion.

Mr Abdul Akbar, on a call-attention notice, raised the plight of sugarcane growers who were not paid adequately for their crop. The mill owners, he pointed out, purchased 4,000kg sugarcane for Rs6,000 and extracted 400kg sugar out of it which earned them heavy profit.

Explaining, Food Minister Fazal Rabbai said there were several kinds of sugarcane and each had a different price. The government had determined Rs65 as support price for every 40kg of sugarcane. He said the growers sold only that kind of sugarcane to mills from which they themselves could not extract molasses.

On an adjournment motion tabled by Dr Saleem Khan, Education Minister Maulana Fazle Ali said that MMA had established 66 colleges, including 16 for girls, during the last four years.

He admitted that even deserving students failed to get admission owing to small number of seats.

Dr Saleem said several students had been denied admission in Maneri Girls College.

The minister assured him that he would look into the matter.

The house converted an adjournment motion of Bashir Bilour into a resolution and asked the federal government to drop the idea of fetching water from the Gazi Barotha canal.

Later, the session was adjourned till Thursday.