PESHAWAR: Opposition members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly set up a protest camp against the government outside the Chief Minister’s House here on Tuesday insisting their constituencies are being ignored during the allocation of development funds.

The parliamentary leaders of all opposition parties said their protest would continue until funds were fairly allocated for constituencies.

Displaying banners and placards, the lawmakers shouted slogans against the provincial government for ‘discrimination’ in the distribution of funds.

They installed a sound system to deliver speeches and shout slogans.

It’s the opposition’s second protest outside the Chief Minister’s House during the Mahmood Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government.

Complains about discrimination in funds distribution

The protest was attended by MPAs Sardar Hussain Babak, Nisar Khan Mohmand, Khushdil Khan, Shagufta Malik and Salahudin Khan of the Awami National Party, Inayatullah Khan and Maulana Lutfur Rehman of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Sardar Yousaf, Sardar Aurangzeb Nalota and Sobia Shahid of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Ahmad Kareem Kundi and Nighat Yasmeen Orakzai of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Talking to Dawn, Inayatullah Khan of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal said besides usurping the rights of the people in the constituencies of the opposition lawmakers, the government had also violated the orders of the Peshawar High Court about the distribution of development funds.

He said in light of the high court’s directions, the provincial government had framed a policy for the distribution of funds among lawmakers but that was not followed by the government.

“The government gives away funds to the opposition lawmakers, who remain silent or do not criticise it in or outside the assembly,” he said.

Mr Inayatullah said the protest would take place five days a week from 10am to 5pm and would continue until the demands were met.

The lawmakers came down hard on the government for ‘constantly ignoring’ them on development funds, appointment of Class-IV employees in government department, and other matters.

They said the government had promised to award 35 per cent of its development funds to the opposition during their meeting with the government on the distribution of development funds, but to no avail.

The opposition MPAs said the government had pushed them to the wall and that attitude was no more tolerable.

They alleged that the provincial government had been utilising its funds through members of the National Assembly (MNAs) in violation of the Constitution.

The protesters criticised the provincial government over the death of six patients due to oxygen shortage in the Khyber Teaching Hospital, the second largest public sector hospital in the province and demanded the resignation of health minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra.

He said the deaths exposed the health minister’s failure to manage his department’s affairs and therefore, he should resign from his office.

The lawmaker warned that if the government didn’t change the ‘U-turn’ policy, they would bring their voters to the Chief Minister’s House for protest.

They also criticised Speaker of the provincial assembly Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani over his ‘partisan’ role during the proceedings of the house and insisted that the speaker didn’t provide them with opportunity to highlight issues.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2020