The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa All Parties Conference (APC), aimed at taking all parties onboard over the central government’s non-payment of Rs 25 billion as net hydroelectric power’s second installment, would be held on Tuesday.
A source said the central government had so far given only Rs 4.1 billion of the Rs 25 billion because of the financial crisis, adding that the provincial government had also demanded uncapping of the Rs 6 billion per year share of the province from the net hydroelectric power profit.
The Awami National Party (ANP)-led coalition government decided that all political parties including the ones without representation in the provincial assembly would be invited to the jirga, to be held at Chief Minister House.
The federal government had announced clearing of Rs 110 billion of the net hydroelectric profit, earned by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in November 2009. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had announced on October 31, 2009 that this liability on behalf of WAPDA would be cleared through disbursements to the province in five yearly installments, starting from 2009-10. As per the prime minister’s announcement, the province had received the first installment of Rs 10 billion and the second tranche of Rs 25 billion was scheduled in the last financial year 2010-11. The provincial government had received Rs 35 billion so far and the remaining Rs 75 billion was supposed to be transferred to the province in three installments.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain told Pakistan Today that the provincial government had received very little despite waiting for a long time. He said jirga of all political parties, in or outside the assembly, had therefore been called to take all parties onboard on this issue. All political parties including Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) assured participation in the APC for the region’s interest.
PTI provincial leader Asad Qaiser told Pakistan Today that his party would participate in the jirga and would also raise questions over spending of the already received Rs 35 billion. He said the government had assured during payment of the first and two tranches that the provincial government would initiate projects of small dams but not a single project had been started.
