June 27, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 11, 1428

PESHAWAR, June 26: The NWFP assembly on Tuesday approved 47 demands for grant worth Rs95.144 billion to meet the current expenditures to be borne by different provincial departments till June 30, 2008.

Speaking on cut motions, opposition lawmakers criticised the performance of home, tribal affairs and civil defence, prisons, police, law and justice, education, health, works and services departments.

They alleged that despite an unprecedented allocation in the previous budget for the police department, law-enforcement agencies had failed to maintain law and order in the province. “It seems that people are living in a fear-bound society.”

They expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of facilities at public sector educational institutions and asked the government to take concrete measures for improving the standard of education.

They said that although the government had established a good number of schools and colleges, it had done little to provide quality education to the citizens. The opposition members said the government had failed to cater to the needs of even big hospitals like the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, and the Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad. They complained that most of the district headquarters hospitals were without required staff and underlined the need for allocation of funds on the basis of population in the backward districts.

They said the government had failed to construct one single road in the quake-hit districts even after the passage of two years. They said the government had confused things by creating hierarchy of different watchdogs in the quake-hit region where the reconstruction process was in the doldrums.

Speaking on a cut motion about the fresh demand for the police department, Israrullah Khan Gandapur said the government had sought funds for the secret service and internal security which was a new thing for him. He said the provincial government had no secret service except its special branch which was a part of the police department.

Anwar Kamal Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) asked the government to reorganise citizens-police liaison committees for crime prevention in the province.

Opposition Leader Shahzada Gustasap said: “People take the law into their hands when justice is denied to them. It is the prime duty of the government to end injustices and restore a sense of security among the citizens.”Arshad Khan of Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao) opposed the fresh grant for the education department and said that in his constituency (Charsadda), over 3,000 girl students every year failed to get admission in the only female college. He demanded the construction of a new girls’ college in Charsadda.

Education Minister Fazle Ali said the government this year had made a 794 per cent increase in the education budget. “We have built 78 colleges over the past 54 months of the MMA government.”

“We have succeeded in getting enrolled 800,000 students in schools. We have spent Rs500 million on the provision of free books to the students of up to the matriculation level,” the minister added. The house adopted the NWFP Finance Bill, 2007. Abdul Akbar Khan of the PPP withdrew his proposed amendment to the bill.