MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) finance department on Wednesday reluctantly agreed to add Rs14.5 million in the budget estimates of AJK Legislative Assembly for 2014-15 to meet the recently enhanced perks and privileges of lawmakers, which are higher than those of the provincial assembly members in the Punjab.

However, since Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq and majority of legislators from both sides were adamant that the finance department should also include 72 posts of assembly secretariat in next year’s budget, the latter had to give in to the intense pressure late night, thus paving the way for an end to the ‘deadlock’.

These posts were created by the assembly’s finance committee without concurrence of the finance department over the past few years and appointees included kith and kin of sitting and former MLAs, including the incumbent speaker and his predecessor.

On Tuesday, the opposition and treasury benches in the Assembly had joined hands with each other to criticise the finance department, apparently for disregarding the sanctity of the house but practically for denying them their additional personal benefits and regularising the 72 appointees.

However, interestingly, an outspoken opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker, who was unable to attend Tuesday’s session, had publicly dissented from his party.

In his comments on a micro blogging site, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq wrote: “The assembly has set a bad precedent and I feel ashamed on the act of legislators.”

Sources told Dawn that following the adjournment of Tuesday’s session, Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed had held a meeting with the finance secretary in the presence of leader of the opposition and PML-N AJK president Raja Farooq Haider on three issues.

They included revival of abolished posts of AJK Cooperative Bank, permission to register new cooperative societies and allocation of Rs100 million for them, inclusion of 72 assembly posts in next year’s budget and increase in the perks and privileges of speaker, deputy speaker, leader of the opposition and MLAs.

While suggesting constitution of a cabinet committee to review the first two issues, the finance department had categorically regretted to accept the third issue, stating that proposed perks and privileges were much higher than the same granted to the MPAs in Punjab.

Sources said that when Finance Minister Chaudhry Latif Akbar was told at another meeting that enhancement would place an additional annual burden of Rs14.5 million on the already burdened AJK exchequer, he maintained that “since the cabinet had approved this raise by overruling the opinion of the finance department, it had now become a law and therefore had to be abided by.”

It was after that the finance department informed the LA secretariat, “with reservations” to include enhancement of perks and privileges in assembly’s budget estimates for 2014-15, the sources said.

The issue of posts was referred by the finance department to the law department for legal opinion, as the process of creation of posts and recruitments against them was sub judice in the AJK high court.

However, the law department was said to have opined that the assembly secretariat was independent to decide expenditures within its budgetary allocations, something that differed with the stance of the finance department.

Meanwhile, as the assembly met on Wednesday morning, the issue of perks surfaced in it once again, but with the warning of PML-N’s Tariq Farooq.

“If we get privileges higher than the MPAs in Punjab how can we stop government servants from seeking similar raises,” he said, adding, such conduct was providing an opportunity to question the utility of the AJK Assembly.

Mr Farooq, who is the lone opposition member of finance committee, said several meetings were held in his absence and were illegal and unconstitutional.

However, finance minister maintained that hundred per cent attendance was not mandatory for committee meetings.

The session also exposed lack of consensus in PML-N ranks, as while Mr Farooq criticised the speaker, MLA Iftikhar Gillani showered praised on him for “defending the sanctity of house.”

The finance committee issue prompted the speaker to adjourn the session until 3 pm. However, it met again at 9:15 pm, only after the finance department accorded its concurrence to creation of 72 posts in assembly.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014