PESHAWAR: The opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly seem more of a defendant than a rival of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led ruling coalition.

“Most of the members of PTI are in Islamabad to attend the sit-in. We feel that once this issue is resolved either government or we (the opposition) would file a requisition to convene a session of the provincial assembly,” said Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl member Maulana Lutfur Rehman, also leader of opposition in the House, when he was asked why the opposition was sleeping over the requisition after it hurriedly filed a no-confidence notice in the Provincial Assembly Secretariat on Aug 20.

PTI chairman Imran Khan, agitated by the failure to force the PML-N government to resign in centre, had also announced to resign from the provincial assemblies of Sindh and Punjab and National Assembly.

Instead of pursuing its no-confidence move, the opposition waits for the government to requisite session of the House

However, the opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had been quick to file a no-confidence motion more than a week ago when PTI chairman threatened to dissolve the provincial assembly where his party is in majority in the 124-member House.

The PTI chairman had been telling his party members from the province to think over dissolving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly as a protest. However, close circles of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had disclosed that he (the chief minister) was unwilling to write to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor without providing any justification to dissolve the provincial assembly. Some call it just an excuse as Mr Khattak himself seems unwilling to let go of power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Political observers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had predicted that chief minister could be using his manoeuvring skills to save the provincial assembly from getting dissolved as the sit-in prolonged without yielding any expected results for PTI.

The no-confidence notice filed by the opposition was a very smooth and legal move to save the provincial assembly from getting dissolved. The opposition members don’t budge from admitting it.

“We had to file a no-confidence notice as it was an emergency situation. We had to do it to save the provincial assembly,” said Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary leader Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha.

Instead of preparing for a requisition to call the provincial assembly session so that voting on no-confidence against the Mr Khattak could be held, the opposition is more considerate of the situation PTI is in. The opposition seems to be in collusion with the provincial government.

Jumaat-i-Islami and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan, coalition partners of PTI, also were not ready to see the provincial assembly dissolved.

Maulana Lutfur Rehman gave a very elaborate reason of why the opposition was not filing for requisition and waiting for the government itself to call the assembly session. He criticised the manner in which PTI was putting its unconstitutional demands and continuing its sit-in in a stubborn manner.

“We hope once this sit-in is over, the PTI MPAs from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would not be able to face the provincial assembly if they have any moral fiber in them,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2014