PESHAWAR, July 2: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for religious affairs Habibur Rehman on Tuesday said imposition of Ushr was inevitable in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as funds collected in the head of Zakat was dwindling gradually.

Speaking on a calling attention notice during the provincial assembly session chaired by Speaker Asad Qaisar, the minister said after 18th amendment to the Constitution, the collection of Zakat was a provincial subject and the share of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had drastically decreased.

He said the provincial government had Rs700 million in Zakat fund but the province could face a serious shortfall in the next two to three years.

The minister said the provincial government would not be in position to pay salary of employees and therefore, the government should ensure collection of Ushr through an act and the law department should legislate for it.

“The province can collect billions of rupees by imposing Ushr,” said Mr Rehman, who belongs to Jamaat-i-Islami.

He said the government would ensure that clean people were inducted in Zakat committees.

Arshad Ali Umarzai of Qaumi Watan Party gave the calling attention notice and demanded that merit be observed during the selection of the Zakat committee members.

He said previously, members of the said committee were appointed on political grounds.

The House deferred the presentation of a resolution against US drone strikes in tribal areas until Wednesday.

It has been decided that parliamentary leaders will prepare draft of the resolution, which will be passed unanimously.

The House passed a resolution unanimously pushing the federal government for increasing allocations for under construction Lowari Tunnel from Rs1 billion to Rs4 billion.

The resolution said the federal government had allocated Rs1 billion in Public Sector Development Programme for the project that was insufficient.

Work on the tunnel, which is to link Chitral with rest of the country, was executed in 2007.

On a point of order, Awami National Party parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak opposed the induction of five advisers and five special assistants in the provincial cabinet.

He said the government was planning to appoint five parliamentary secretaries in the cabinet and therefore, the strength of the cabinet would be 30 against the Constitution under which, the number couldn’t exceed 15 members or 11 per cent of the total membership of a provincial assembly.

Mr Babak termed the induction of advisers and special assistants in the cabinet an ‘ultra-constitutional’ step of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led coalition government.

He said before forming the government, PTI had claimed to curtail non-developmental expenditure but the big size of the cabinet belied it.

Provincial law and parliamentary affairs minister Israrullah Khan Gandapur said under the Constitution, the chief minister had powers to appoint five advisers and special assistants each to strengthen the cabinet.

The sitting was adjourned until 4pm today (Wednesday).