PESHAWAR: The opposition members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday challenged the provincial government’s claims regarding tree plantation in their constituencies under the flagship Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Programme.

During a session chaired by deputy speaker Prof Mehar Taj Roghani, the opposition lawmakers stood up and began speaking when the question regarding tree plantation was tabled on the floor of the house.

The mover of the question, PML-N’s Sobia Shahid, had sought the details of the trees being planted in the province under the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Programme.

The opposition members contested the data of tree plantation produced by the forest, environment and wildlife department.

“I challenge the number of trees shown as planted in Hangu under the afforestation programme,” said Mufti Sayed Janan of the JUI-F, who belongs to the Hangu district, where the department claimed in a written reply that 2.774 million trees were planted.

Mr Janan wondered where the trees were planted in his district.

Police come under fire in PA for trying to hush up Mardan girl’s rape and murder

“Hangu is my constituency and the government should show me where it has planted so many trees,” he said.

The ANP member from Swat, Jaffar Shah, said the department had claimed that it had planted 5.86 million trees in Kalam area of Swat district.

He said the people of Kalam had boycotted the government’s tree plantation programme as they had serious reservations about the conduct of the divisional forest officer.

“Not a single tree has been planted in my constituency (Kalam),” he said.

Earlier, mover of the question Sobia Shahid alleged that irregularities had been committed in the much-trumpeted multibillion rupees afforestation initiative.

The chair first deferred her questions on the pretext that environment minister Ishtiaq Ahmad Urmar was not present in the house.

The mover complained that her question regarding the afforestation project was placed on the house agenda for three times but wasn’t moved for discussion.

On Friday, when the chair deferred her questions again, she first protested and then went to the speaker’s dais shouting why she was protecting the government.

Responding to the criticism, higher education minister Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani said the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) had also acknowledged transparency in the afforestation programme.

He claimed that the provincial government had planted 1.2 billion trees in its tenure and that the opposition could check it through the respective coordinators appointed in each region.

Other opposition members were also waiting for their turn to reject the government’s claim on tree plantation in their respective constituencies but PTI MPA Zareen Zia pointed out lack of quorum prompting the chair to adjourn the session until Monday.

Thereafter, the opposition members shouted slogans against the government for not giving them the opportunity to speak on the issue.

Earlier, the provincial police came under fire in the house for initially making efforts to hush up the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Mardan.

Speaking on a point of order, PPP member Nighat Aurakzai said the Mardan police were skillfully trying to hush up the Mardan rape and murder when the country was protesting similar incident reported in Kasur.

She said the KP police had miserably failed to arrest the people involved in the lynching of Mashal Khan, the stripping of a girl in Dera Ismail Khan, and the rape and killing of a minor girl in Mardan.

Other lawmakers, who criticised the police’s performance, were Aurangzeb Nalotha, Miraj Humayun and Fakhar Azam.

The house also passed a resolution condemning the extra-judicial killing of tribal area resident Naqeebullah Mehsud by the police in Karachi.

The resolution was tabled by PPP MPA Fakhar Azam, who demanded of the Sindh government to conduct a judicial inquiry into the killing and award exemplary punishment to culprits.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2018