September 24, 2007	Monday	Ramazan 11, 1428

PESHAWAR, Sept 23: The NWFP assembly has failed to complete its required parliamentary working days this year, although its tenure is ending in November.

According to the procedure and conduct of business rules, 1988, the provincial assembly had to complete 70 working days before the end of Nov 2007, but it had met only 26 days during the current parliamentary year.

An assembly official said that Article 127 of the Constitution read with Article 54 (2) envisaged that the provincial assembly shall meet for not less than 70 working days in each parliamentary year.

The NWFP assembly held its first session of the parliamentary year in November last year. The second session was requisitioned by the joint opposition for a debate on the deteriorating law and order and a series of suicide bombings in the province. The third session was convened in June this year to pass annual budget.

Parliamentary leader of the Awami National Party in the NWFP Assembly Bashir Bilour held both treasury and opposition benches responsible for not completing the required working days. He said that constitutionally it was the responsibility of the ruling party to convene the session.

“The government was afraid of suicide attacks, therefore sessions were deliberately not convened,” Mr Bilour observed and said that his party had asked opposition parties to requisite sessions, but they showed least interest.

Provincial Law Minister Malik Zafar Azam admitted the government’s failure for not completing the required 70 working days. He said the assembly was completing its tenure on Nov 27 and it would serve no purpose to convene a session before that date.

The NWFP assembly, it may be mentioned, functioned without a deputy speaker for more than a year. Deputy speaker Ikramullah Shahid had tendered his resignation on March 21 last year following a no-confidence motion against him. Mr Shahid belongs to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Sami group).

Sources said that under Article 108 of the Constitution, the offices of the speaker and deputy speaker must not be left vacant.

They said the post could not be filled because of some differences between two major parties of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal alliance – the Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F).