PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-i-Islami was in the line of fire in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday over the formation of Zakat committees and alleged distribution of most of their funds to its workers.

During the question hour, several opposition lawmakers objected to the induction of JI workers in the Zakat committees as chairmen and members at district and ward levels.

The matter was raised by PPP MPA Sahibzada Sanaullah, raised objections about the distribution of Zakat, mostly among JI workers in Upper Dir district.

He said under the rules, the chairmen of Zakat committees should be financially stable persons so that irregularities in the distribution of Zakat funds could be checked but on the contrary, most of such bodies in Upper Dir were headed by the poor people affiliated with the JI.

Opposition says most Zakat committees headed by Jamaat workers

The lawmaker asked how such committee chairmen would distribute Zakat among other poor people when they too deserved it.

“Is there any schedule for the distribution of Zakat distribution or it is distributed to the people only during elections?”

Mr. Sanaullah alleged that the JI had handed out Zakat funds to the people during Upper and Lower Dir by-elections last year.

“They (JI) purchased votes using the Zakat money,” he said.

In a supplementary question, ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak raised questions about the selection of Zakat committee chairmen.

He sarcastically said the government should amend rules to ensure that only JI activists become chairmen of the Zakat committees.

The ANP leader asked if the amount of Zakat lying in banks was distributed to the poor people along with interest on it.

Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha of the PML-N said in the past, the Zakat funds were released to the Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad for the treatment of poor patients but since the PTI had formed government in the province, not a single penny had been released for the purpose.

Askar Pervaiz of the JUI-F asked if non-Muslims were eligible for Zakat funds.

He said if non-Muslims could claim Zakat, how much money had been paid to them so far.

Zakat and Ushr minister Habibur Rehman, who belongs to the JI, avoided replying to the questions raised by the opposition members and asked them to file fresh queries instead of asking supplementary questions.

At the request of MPA Sanaullah, the question was referred to the relevant house committee for detailed discussion.

The house also discussed the coal mine incidents, which claimed many lives over the recent years.

Rashad Khan of the PML-N said a large number of people from Shangla district had been working in mines across the country.

He said mine owners didn’t ensure safety of their workers at workplace and even didn’t compensate their families in case of deaths on duty.

The lawmaker asked the chair to form a house committee to work for the protection of miners.

On a calling attention notice, Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha demanded that the government compensate four police constables, who were killed few months ago in Naran area due to heavy snowfall, under the Shuhada Package.

Spokesman for the provincial government Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani said the families of the deceased policemen would be properly compensated.

The chair later adjourned the session until Thursday.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2016