0
PESHAWAR, May 11: Awami National Party President Senator Asfandyar Wali Khan has urged the federal government to grant the NWFP complete control on electricity and do away with the concurrent list from the 1973 Constitution in order to end the “prevalent sense of deprivation among the provinces.”
“The provinces should be transferred all the powers in the concurrent list forthwith,” the newly-elected ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan said after presiding over the Central Executive Committee meeting of the party here at Bacha Khan Markaz on Sunday.
The concurrent list is a source of ambiguity and is creating problems for the federating units, he said.
According to him, Pakistan was a federal state so all the federating units must be given equal rights if progress and prosperity of the nation was to be ensured.
Flanked by the party’s senior vice-president, Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, and secretary general, Ihsan Wayen Advocate, Mr Khan said that as the Senate happened to be the only institution where equal representation was given to all province, it must be given more powers to remove the sense of deprivation of smaller provinces.
Apart from debating the budget, the Senate should also be empowered to vote on it. He deplored the federal government’s response to the unanimously-passed resolutions by the provincial assemblies regarding provincial rights and autonomy.
About the hydel power generation in the Frontier province, Asfandyar Wali said that besides the net profit on electricity to the province, full control of Wapda should be given to the NWFP as it was holding before the formation of ‘One Unit’.
“We are totally against at-source deduction and surcharges in the electricity bills as these are in conflict with the provisions of the 1973 Constitution,” he said, adding that, ironically, electricity charges lost in Fata were being cut from the Frontier province.
Similarly, like other provinces, “our amount should be transferred from the federal consolidated fund to the provincial consolidated fund directly,” he said.
The ANP leader appealed to all political and religious parties to get united for the provincial rights and autonomy.
He also said the distribution point of the recently discovered natural gas at Karak district should be established in Karak district rather than Multan. Otherwise, a Sui-like situation will emerge here, he warned.
Mr Khan said the ANP’s stand on the LFO was very clear as it wanted any amendment to the Constitution according to the formula as prescribed by the Constitution itself and that was through parliament.
He also appreciated the present overtures and friendly moves between Pakistan and India, saying that all issues between the two nuclear rivals, including the Kashmir issue, were political in nature. Therefore, these should be resolved through political dialogue rather than war and violence.
RESOLUTIONS: The party’s executive council, in resolutions adopted during its meeting held at Bacha Khan Markaz, asked the federal government to pay the dues of net hydel profit to the NWFP and gas royalty to Balochistan.
It asked the government to ensure the provincial autonomy as enshrined in the 1973 Constitution to end the sense of deprivation.
It said the ANP was following the philosophy of Khudai Khidmatgar Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan that embodied peace, love, brotherhood, tranquillity and democracy.
It said the prosperity of the country was embedded in true parliamentary democracy and granting of rights to the provinces.
It demanded that the government should stop meddling in provincial matters.
A resolution stated that the federal government had usurped the electricity dues of the NWFP since 1973, that totalled Rs298 billion. It asked the government to pay the net hydel power profit to the NWFP to remove the sense of deprivation among the people of the province.
It said Balochistan was being deprived of its share in gas royalty, which had pitted the tribesmen against each other and the government was adamant to fight against the tribesmen.
The party said the National Finance Commission award had created restlessness among the federating units.
Water was being distributed under the formula of 1991, which had added to the problems of smaller provinces and it was against the Constitution, unity and solidarity of the country.
A resolution asked the government to hold talks with India to solve outstanding issues, including the core issue of Kashmir, in accordance with the Simla Accord. It said all the matters should be resolved through talks to achieve peace for South Asia.
Through another resolution, the intervention of foreigners in the internal affairs of Afghanistan was opposed.
The allied forces were asked to leave Iraq.
It also condemned the atrocities committed against the Palestinians by the Israeli forces.
