PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party MPA from PK-93, Lower Dir, Sahibzada Sanaullah on Thursday staged a sit-in outside the local government department’s offices over what he called the denial of due share in development funds.

Claiming to be victimised for leaving the Jamaat-i-Islami to join the PPP, he announced that he would continue protesting until the sought-after funds were released.

The lawmaker stayed put on the footpath outside the LG and Rural Development Secretariat’s premises on the Police Road for around five hours.

He also put up placards on the LG department offices’ main gate and walls with slogans criticising the department and government over the denial of funds.

Sahibzada Sanaullah insists being victimised for leaving Jamaat

Mr Sanaullah had switched from the Jamaat-i-Islami to the PPP before the Sept 2015 by-elections and won the PK-93 seat in the otherwise JI stronghold.

He told Dawn that he had been denied due share in development funds and that the local government headed by JI senior minister Inayatullah Khan not only backtracked from his promise on the funds’ release but also ignored the Peshawar High Court’s order in that respect.

The MPA said after defeating the JI candidate in the 2015 by-elections, he was victimised on political basis through the slashing of funds for his constituency by the JI-headed local government department.

He said he later approached the high court, which upheld my opinion against the arbitrary use of powers and denial of funds to his electorate by the LG department.

“Following the court’s order, I approached the department and shared a list of 13 rural road projects with them. However, the department backtracked from its promise on the equitable distribution of funds and allocated Rs35 million for my constituency forcing me to stage a sit-in outside the LG department offices,” he said.

Mr Sanaullah said the treasury lawmakers’ constituencies got over Rs250 million each over a period of three years but the government gave away the opposition lawmakers a paltry amount of Rs130 million.

He said he was approached by both the senior LG minister and secretary with an offer to double the allocations but he told them in plain words that he won’t strike a bargain over the rights of his voters.

“My sit-in will continue until the government allocates the due share in development funds for my constituency,” he warned.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2017