5
PESHAWAR: The ‘manhandling’ of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan during an official ceremony in Swat echoed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly here on Tuesday with an opposition member demanding inquiry into it.
During the session chaired by Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, Khushdil Khan of the Awami National Party raised the issue insisting that the privilege of the house was breached.
He said a video went viral showing the men in uniform hold the chief minister and lead to a vehicle.
Spokesman tells PA Mahmood Khan was ‘surrounded’ by personnel due to security reasons
“Strangely, the personnel in uniform did not let an elected representative talk to his people,” he said asking the treasury to explain position on the incident.
A senior lawmaker told Dawn that the opposition benches had planned to stage a walkout against the incident but the plan was dropped at the eleventh hour.
The video showed the security personnel tightly hold Chief Minister Mahmood Khan by arms and take him to the vehicle after he spoke at the ceremony held at the Saidu Sharif Airport on Monday for the transfer of powers from the Pakistan Army to the civil administration.
The video sparked speculations about the treatment meted out to the chief minister and his health forcing the government to clarify the situation.
The chief minister’s spokesman, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, insisted that the personnel encircled the chief minister due to security reasons.
Law and parliamentary affairs minister Barrister Sultan Mahmood ignored Khushdil’s point of order and didn’t respond to the matter.
Meanwhile, the house continued debate on the demands for grant on the second consecutive day.
It passed six demands for grant worth Rs104 billion.
Speaking on his cut motion, Khushdil Khan said the chief minister held a total of 21 portfolios but didn’t attend the budget session.
He said the leader of the house held important departments and therefore, he should ensure presence in the assembly.
Malik Zafar Azam, who presented a cut motion on the grant for home and tribal affairs department, said after the merger of seven tribal agencies with the province, funds were being used by the civil secretariat for the defunct Fata.
He said the post of political agent had been re-designated as the deputy commissioner after the constitutional amendment but the role of the home department had yet to be extended to the area.
The lawmaker said the department could not justify its expenditure due to its limited role.
MPA Inayatullah Khan said the home and tribal affairs department had become toothless and its role had been confined.
He asked the treasury to explain the role of research and analysis wing working in the home department.
Mr Inayatullah also asked the government to give timeframe for the formal merger of tribal region with KP and introduction of police system there.
Sardar Hussain Babak pointed out that there was no need for a separate civil secretariat after merger with the province.
He proposed that the federal government launch five million housing schemes in militancy- affected tribal districts, where one hundred thousand houses and other private properties had been demolished.
The lawmaker said construction material for damaged houses had been either stolen or auctioned, while a large number of internally displaced persons couldn’t return to native lands due to the presence of the terrorists’ hideouts.
He said there were reports about the presence of Pakistani Taliban militants in some areas and therefore, the people did not go there.
The excise and taxation department also came under fire with the members terming its performance unsatisfactory.
They said the department had failed to eradicate menace of drug trafficking and its use in the province.
The lawmakers said the people were registering their vehicles in Islamabad and Punjab instead of KP posing lack of confidence in the department.
Law minister Barrister Sultan said the government would introduce an anti-narcotics bill in the assembly after the budget session.
He said the control of drugs had become a provincial subject and the government would legislate on it.
Mr Sultan said the government would propose stringent punishment for the dealers of ice drug in the bill.
He defended the performance of the excise and taxation department saying the revenue collection had improved.
The minister said the department had collected Rs2.5 billion in the first quarter against the total target of Rs15 billion for the current financial year.
Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2018
Download the new Dawn mobile app here:
