PESHAWAR, Aug 21: A government-opposition joint meeting, held here at the speaker’s secretariat on Thursday, has decided to convene the assembly session on Aug 30.

Acting Speaker Ikramullah Shahid presided over the meeting.

He assured the opposition that their demands would be given equal space on the assembly agenda. The meeting discussed every point of the opposition’s agenda submitted to his secretariat, he said.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Malik Zafar Azam, Abdul Akbar Khan of the People’s Party Parliamentarians, Anwar Kamal Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Shahzada Gistasip Khan of the Independent Group, Mureed Kazim of the PPP-S, Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani of the PML-Q and Mian Nisar Gul of the Tehreek-i-Insaf attended the meeting.

The meeting gave a three-day time to discuss law and order situation in the NWFP, contract policy and reports by special committees. The house would also discuss the report on the institution-based practice in health sector, introduction of inter-district tobacco cess and its impact on farmers, Mr Shahid said.

Mr Akbar Khan told Dawn that the opposition parties had taken a strong notice of the disregard shown by the government departments to the recommendations made by the house standing and special committees on important matters during previous sessions.

He said the house would discuss the non-compliance by the government functionaries to their recommendations and deliberate delay in the non-execution of the schemes identified under the Tameer-i-Sarhad programme.

The opposition parties, Mr Khan said, wanted to continue the debate on the declining law and order situation for consecutive two days but the government agreed to just one day.

The last assembly session, convened by the government on May 27 to table the Shariat Bill, was prorogued on July 2.