PESHAWAR, April 24: The NWFP Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution tabled by a Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MPA with majority, seeking replacement of trousers with the national dress in the school uniform in the province.
The opposition staged a walkout terming it “an unwise move” and forced the government to change the content of the resolution.
The opposition MPAs urged the speaker not to entertain the resolution moved by Khalid Waqar Chamkani and said it would make the house a laughing stock outside the province.
Some MMA members also opposed the content of the resolution, but the speaker put it before the house, which adopted it with majority.
Mr Chamkani dubbed trousers as un-Islamic and a legacy of the colonial rule and demanded that it should not be a part of the uniform.
Bashir Ahmed Bilour of the Awami National Party pointed towards the Quaid-i-Azam’s portrait behind the speaker’s chair and said the father of the nation was attired in three-piece suit.
He urged the speaker not to make a mockery of democracy by entertaining unwise issues on the floor of the house.
Senior Minister Sirajul Haq was of the view that dress had nothing to do with the spirit of the religion as it was linked to the climatic needs. He opposed the contents of the resolution, but later voted in its favour.
When the House resumed its proceedings, Mr Haq said the controversial part had been deleted from the resolution. “We want to introduce similar uniform in the schools,” he assured the house.
Later, Abdul Akbar Khan of the People’s Party Parliamentarians urged the government to regularize the services of the teachers, doctors and other employees serving on contract basis.
He said the system had no legal standing but it had been a policy of successive governments to appoint people temporarily against the permanent vacant posts in government departments.
“The NWFP Assembly had passed two acts and regularized the temporary and contractual services of government employees in the past,” Mr Khan said and added that policy could not be an alternative to a law.
He asked the government to give a legal cover to the employees and bring a draft in the assembly in this regard. The opposition parties would support the bill ensuring protection of services to the doctors, teachers and other employees, he said.
The PPP leader said those who had been appointed on contract basis could not be called government servants. “The government servants have permanent appointment, pension, gratuity, promotion and other benefits. The contractual employees do not have such rights,” he added.
Bashir Bilour urged the government to send all those retired officials back to their provinces, who had been appointed on contract basis against executive posts in the NWFP.
He said the appointment of retired officials for three years on executive posts was dangerous and asked who would go after them if they committed embezzlement during their service.
The house unanimously adopted a resolution tabled by Zar Gul Khan regarding the rehabilitation of the Tarbela Dam’s affected people. He thanked President Gen Pervez Musharraf for sanctioning Rs160 million for the affected people.
During the question hour, MPAs from Swat, Buner, Malakand, Dir and Hazara sought the government’s views on development of forest ranges and welfare of the residents of the hilly districts.
Some members raised questions about the use of foreign aid for the forest related projects.