QUETTA: Members of the provincial assembly from the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) on Friday criticised reported remarks of former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali against the governor of Balochistan and said that no one had the right to declare anyone a traitor.

Syed Liaquat Agha criticised the statement of the former prime minister recently reported in newspapers in which he allegedly said that the son of an anti-Pakistan figure had been made governor.

He said the governor is the son of Khan Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai who waged a struggle against the British rulers in the sub-continent in 1930.

Speaking on a point of order after the winter session of the assembly began, the party’s parliamentary leader Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal said all the leaders had taken

the oath on the Constitution of Pakistan and no one had the right to declare anyone a traitor.

He said his party’s founder and other Pakhtun stalwarts had played their role in compelling the English rulers to quit the sub-continent.

He said that it was very unfortunate to note that the ones who had served the British rulers were now passing remarks against the Pakhtun leaders. He alleged that the former PM had always supported martial law.

PkMAP’s Nasarullah Zerey said Mr Jamali had also used condemnable language against the Pakhtuns in the past.

Former adviser to the chief minister on finance Mir Khalid Langove, who is in the National Accountability Bureau’s custody in the Mushtaq Raisani corruption case, said he was attending the session to speak about the people of his constituency.

He said Planning and Development Minister Hamid Khan Achakzai had assured him that all funds for his constituency would be released but the promise had not been fulfilled.

He said he had been in the custody of NAB for more than four months and doctors had advised him treatment in Karachi but he was not being allowed to do so. He said the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee was issuing statements that the former adviser and the finance secretary were involved in corruption. He said the PAC chief should use his words and powers with caution.

Mr Langove asked the speaker how people were allowed to bring weapons into the corridor of the assembly.

He said that the night money was recovered from Mr Raisani’s home, he was advised by his leaders to resign.

He said he had followed party discipline and resigned but later he came to know that pressure was exerted from PM House on the CM Secretariat to sack him from his post.

He asked if the scandal was bigger than the Panama Papers leaks.

He also lamented non-provision of funds for an approved project for gas supply to his constituency. He appealed to former president Asif Ali Zardari to provide funds from his province for completing the project.

Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri said it was mandatory for him to treat all coalition partners equally.

He said he would facilitate all coalition partners along with the opposition benches, adding that there was no difference in resource distribution among the MPAs and all the members are treated equally, irrespective of their constituencies.

A unanimous resolution was tabled by a standing committee to constitute a committee for filling the vacant posts in various departments. The resolution also recommended inclusion of opposition members in the committee.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2017