PESHAWAR: Just two years after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister punctured a pressure group of the members of provincial assembly using his special political manoeuvring skills, another such group is in the making by the National Assembly Members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf this time.

“It is not just a one-day job so we have decided to set up a pressure group of MNAs, local government representatives and around five MPAs,” said MNA Eng Dawar Khan from Tank. He said that they were not demanding development funds for themselves but wanted to speak up for the rights of the people, who had been disappointed.

They wanted the party to implement what was promised in the manifesto. It was not implemented which affected the performance of the party in the province.

Majority of the MNAs hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were unhappy with the performance of the party, holding Chief Minister Pervez Khattak responsible for not working on the manifesto of PTI as promised, said a disgruntled parliamentarian while another disappointed MNA, who has left PTI for the same reasons, confided how Chief Minister Pervez Khattak used to belittle MNAs of the party.

Disgruntled MNA says they don’t demand development funds but want to speak up for the rights of people

“He (Pervez Khattak) is a seasoned politician whereas Imran Khan has yet to learn a lot about the politics,” said a parliamentarian, explaining why despite complaints from MNAs and some MPAs even about rampant corruption in the province has not spurred ever PTI chairman to take it up seriously with the chief minister in the past.

Sources said that PTI chairman Imran Khan held a meeting with the chief minister and MPAs over the ‘rumours’ that some disgruntled MPAs had joined hands with the party MNAs, who had been speaking openly in media against Mr Khattak and holding him responsible for poor performance of the party in the province.

The chief minister, in a handout issued here on Wednesday, took himself serious notice of the recent statements of the party MNAs, saying he felt sorry at such “outrageous statements” issued to the media by the parliamentarians instead of bringing it into Imran Khan’s notice.

MNA Dawar Khan, on the other hand, took this handout as merely a statement, which reinforced the fact that the issue existed. He said that they had brought it into the notice of Imran Khan and there was not any sign from him which suggested that he disagreed with them or disapproved what they were saying.

This scribe tried to contact Mushtaq Ghani, special assistant to chief minister on information, regarding details about meeting held by PTI chairman Imran Khan but he did not respond.

However, a handout issued by the spokesman for chief minister said that statements of the MNAs to media were regrettable. The statement said that Mr Khattak was taking the province on a path of progress by following party’s manifesto and following merit.

“The MNAs have nothing to do with the developmental funds and they should work for the rights of the province at the federal level,” said Mr Khattak in his statement.

Dawar Khan said that chief minister was right to say that MNAs had nothing to do with development funds just as the MPAs had nothing to do with it yet he was pleasing MPAs with such benefits and perks himself.

He said that local government representatives were elected to do all the development work with the funds. However, any man on the road would confirm how PTI had not followed its own manifesto.

“There is no DG at Ehtesab Commission and the head of the Anti-Corruption Establishment is also not there. It is happening during the government of a party, which promised accountability,” said Dawar Khan.

Reports also said that the opposition members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly earlier criticised the government for not giving them proper share in the development funds and using the money in the constituencies of MNAs.

The house was informed that Rs20 million was allocated for water supply schemes in Peshawar’s NA-4 constituency from where PTI MNA Gulzar Khan was elected, while Rs40 million was allocated to the constituency of MNA from Lakki Marwat, said an MPA, who himself had been part of a disgruntled pressure group formed back in 2014 against corruption in the province but later gave into the political manoeuvring of Mr Khattak.

MPA Javed Naseem, who raised voice against Mr Khattak and accused him of corruption, did away with his ways when he was made a parliamentary secretary. Many MPAs of the ruling PTI have not only raised their salaries and perks and privileges than the members of the previous provincial assembly but they also have membership of several committees and many have been made parliamentary secretaries, assistants and advisers.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2016