PESHAWAR: Opposition leader in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Mohammad Akram Khan Durrani on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to explain his position on the plans of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf about the assembly’s dissolution, insisting that political uncertainty is aggravating economic and security situation in the province.

“If you (chief minister) are serious about dissolving the [provincial] assembly, then do it by tomorrow,” the opposition leader told the house, which met here with Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan in the chair.

On a point of order, Mr Durrani said if the chief minister didn’t intend to dissolve the assembly, then the opposition parties would help the provincial government claim dues from their government in the centre.

“If the chief minister informs us [opposition] after consulting his leader Imran Khan that the provincial assembly won’t be dissolved, I will go straight to the prime minister’s office to demand the rights of the province,” he said.

The opposition leader said voters asked lawmakers in the lighter vein about when to quit the assembly, so the PTI shouldn’t turn the house into a ‘joke’.

Durrani says if house stays intact, opposition will help province claim dues from centre

“It’s the house of respectable people with the mandate of millions of people,” he said.

Mr Durrani said on one hand, the chief minister blamed the province’s economic woes on the federal government but on the other, threatened it with the dissolution of the provincial assembly.

He said that “dilemma” was stopping the federal government and investors from offering the required help.

The opposition leader said the PTI couldn’t pressure the federal government by dissolving the KP and Punjab assemblies as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration had categorically announced that general elections would take place after the completion of its constitutional term in office.

On the province’s economic crisis, he said when he headed the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government in the province as the chief minister, the province’s debts totalled Rs16 billion, which surged to Rs87 billion during the ANP government and Rs791 billion in the nine years rule of the PTI speaking about the financial mismanagement and incompetency of CM Mahmood Khan’s administration.

Mr Durrani claimed that the law and order situation in the province was worsening.

He said people feared stepping out after 8pm due to the growing robbery incidence.

The opposition leader said ministers and lawmakers received phone calls for extortion payment and if they didn’t meet the demand, shrouds were delivered to their homes with life death threat notes.

He alleged that the deputy commissioner of Lakki Marwat district had informed officials of the education and health department to arrange for their security by themselves and that the administration won’t be responsible if miscreants attacked them.

Mr Durrani demanded of the administration not to spread fear among the people.

Though a privilege motion, treasury MPA Asif Khan demanded of the government to take punitive action against SHO of the Khazana police station Ijaz Khan for pointing a gun to him and MPA Arbab Jandad inside the police station in the presence of dozens of people.

He said he and the other lawmaker visited the police station to ascertain reasons for the arrest of a local nazim, but the SHO misbehaved.

The house referred the matter to the relevant standing committee for discussion and recommendations.

The chair later adjourned the sitting until Friday over a lack of quorum without taking up many agenda items.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2022