QUETTA, May 26: Balochistan Assembly Deputy Speaker Mohammad Aslam Bhootani on Saturday did not allow debate on an adjournment motion tabled by the Leader of the Opposition, Kachkol Ali, about construction a wall by Iran along the border with Pakistan.

While disposing of the motion, he said the wall had been constructed inside Iran and it was an international matter.

The deputy speaker, who was presiding over the proceedings, stated that though the people living on both sides of the border were culturally the same, the matter was not of an urgent nature and it was outside the purview of the provincial government.

Speaking on the admissibility of the motion, the opposition leader said the Baloch lived on both sides of the border and the wall would create problems for the natives of areas adjacent to it.

He said the governments of the two countries had not taken the Baloch into confidence on the construction of the wall.

Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf informed the house that the provincial police chief had told him that four people had been killed in crossfire in Shahbaz Town in the morning over an enmity between the Hamidzai and Ghaibzai tribes.

Speaking on a point of order raised by Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal of the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, the chief minister said initials reports received by police showed that the clash was the result of a feud between the two clans of the Achakzai tribe.

Majid Khan Achakzai of the PMAP asked the chief minister how he could term the incident crossfire between the groups just 20 minutes after its occurrence without any arrest having been made.

The speaker disposed of an adjournment motion of Jan Mohammad Buledi when Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah assured the house that the Rs600 million allocated for the people affected by the Mirani Dam would be distributed once the survey of the date trees was completed by the Water and Power Development Authority and Nespak. He said the payment had been delayed because the affected people were demanding Rs20,000 per tree lost, while Wapda was ready to pay Rs3,000.

The mover alleged that the government neither paid compensation to the victims nor taken any step for their rehabilitation. He said the funds released for the purpose had been deposited in a private bank.

The chair admitted an adjournment motion tabled by Dr Shama Ishaq about denial of admission to the Balochistan University of Information Technology and Management Sciences to local students. Members from both the opposition and treasury benches supported the motion.

The speaker formed a committee comprising Ministers Abdur Rehman Jamali and Maulana Faizullah and MPAs Kachkol Ali and Mr Ziaratwal on a proposal of the chief minister to investigate the contents of the written answer to a question by the agriculture department.

Gwadar Development Authority Minister Sher Jan Baloch informed the house in reply to a question that no-objection certificates had been issued to 57 private firms for resorts and housing, commercial and industrial units in the district during the past three years.