November 18, 2006	Saturday	Shawwal 25, 1427

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PESHAWAR, Nov 17: The NWFP assembly on Friday unanimously demanded immediate release of scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan. The demand was made in a resolution tabled by MPA Shagufta Naz of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on the completion of 1,000 days of Dr Khan's detention. She said Dr Khan was a national hero and father of the country’s nuclear programme.

She said the treatment meted out to Dr Khan was a glaring example of ungratefulness in the history of the country. She alleged that the government had forcibly shifted him from Karachi to Islamabad. She demanded that the federal government should set him free.

Ms Naz expressed concern over the contradictory statements made by the government regarding the condition of the ailing scientist.

She demanded that Dr Khan’s family members and friends should be allowed to visit him.

Through another resolution adopted unanimously, the assembly demanded that political parties should be allowed to function in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the tribesmen should be permitted to take part in political activities. The movers, Bashir Ahmed Bilour and Abdul Akbar Khan, said the ban on political activities in Fata had caused social and tribal problems.

They demanded repeal of the Frontier Crimes Regulations.

The house adopted unanimously a resolution tabled by Yasmin Khalid of the MMA demanding the setting up of an artificial limbs centre in Mansehra for the people of Hazara affected by last year’s earthquake. She said a large number of disabled people were in dire need of artificial limbs. She said the government had set up three temporary centres to cater to the needs of the affected people but a permanent solution of the problem was needed.

During discussion on slow pace of rehabilitation and reconstruction process in five quake-affected districts in the province, the opposition lawmakers staged a token walkout in protest against corruption in the relief work. They said the government had failed to control mismanagement and corruption in the affected zone.

The Minister in charge of Rehabilitation, Maulana Asmatullah, who had promised on Wednesday that he would brief the MPAs about the government’s efforts, was unable to make a satisfactory statement in the house.

He said the government had distributed Rs11.75 billion among 175,674 affected people.

The minister said the district rehabilitation units had approved a large number of investment projects for the affected areas.

He said the government had declared Balakot a red zone and an alternative town at Bakayal area would be constructed for people of Balakot with 10,000 houses.

Mazhar Qasim from Kaghan and Riffat Akbar Swati from Mansehra questioned the figures.

The minister said Nespak was preparing an earthquake-resistant design of houses for the affected people.

He said the government would soon distribute a map of the plan. Both the MPAs claimed that the map had already been distributed among people.

After a brief rumpus, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Shahzada Gustasip said the government had failed to address the problems of the affected villagers. He alleged that the government had provided wrong details.