PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly on Friday passed nine bills, including a private members bill, and adopted 10 resolutions during the 26th session.
According to the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) session report, the provincial assembly session comprised of 12 sittings held between September 19 and October 27. The house did not take up a majority of the oversight agenda, as 15 out of 20 (75 per cent) Call Attention Notices (CANs), 67 out of 140 (48 per cent) starred questions, and one out of two (50 per cent) adjournment motions, lapsed without being discussed during the proceedings due to the absence of relevant lawmakers or ministers.
The FAFEN report revealed that with an average of 30 lawmakers (24 per cent among 124 total members) present at the start, and 27 members (22 per cent) at the end of each sitting, the 26th session of the KP Assembly also witnessed low attendance of lawmakers, as four out of eight (50 per cent) sittings were adjourned due to lack of quorum. A maximum of 45 (36 percent) members, including two minority lawmakers on average, attended the session.
The quorum was pointed out on a total of six occasions during the session. On four of these instances, the proceedings were adjourned, while only once the quorum was completed following suspension of 25 minutes. On one occasion, the quorum was found complete on counting.
According to the report, the speaker attended three sittings and presided over 21 percent of the proceedings during the session, while the deputy speaker was present during 11 sittings and presided over 73 per cent of the proceedings.
Six percent of the session was lost in breaks or suspension of the proceedings. The leader of the house was present during two sittings and attended 22 per cent of the proceedings, while the leader of the opposition attended four sittings, amounting to 22 per cent of the proceedings. Among the parliamentary leaders, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) attended nine sittings, followed by leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) present during seven sittings, Awami National Party (ANP) attented six times, Pakistan People’s Party-Parliamentarians (PPP-P) were present on four occasions, and Qaumi Watan Party-Sherpao QWP-S attended three times. The parliamentary leader of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam- Fazl (JUI-F) did not attend any of the sittings.
Furthermore, the report mentioned that the house passed eight government bills and a private members bill. These bills included the KP Regularisation of Services of Teaching Assistants as Lecturers Bill-2017 (private members bill), the Peshawar Development Authority Bill-2017, the KP Public Private Partnership (Amendment) Bill-2017, the KP Public Health (Surveillance and Response) Bill-2017, the KP Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation (Amendment) Bill-2017, the KP Minerals Sector Governance Bill-2017, the KP Local Government (Amendment) Bill-2017, the KP Public Service Commission (Amendment) Bill-2017 and the KP Housing Authority (Amendment) Bill-2017. The KP Public Health (Surveillance and Response) Bill-2017 was originated as ordinance and laid in the house during the same session.
The session also witnessed introduction of three private members bills, including the KP Appointment of Employees of Establishment of M&E System in KP Bill-2017, the KP Capacity Building, Planning and Development Department Employees (Regularisation of Services) Bill-2017, and the KP Employees of Energy and Power Department (Regularisation of Services) Bill-2017. These were topped by two government bills, including the KP Control of Narcotic Substances Bill-2017 and the KP Energy Development Organisation (Amendment) Bill-2017.
Moreover, the government withdrew two bills, including the KP Censorship of Motion Pictures (films, compact discs, videos, stage dramas and shows) Bill-2015 and the KP Prohibition of Usurious Loans Bill-2014.
The house adopted ten resolutions during the session condemning the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and human rights violation in Kashmir, while urging the government to appoint the vice chancellor of the University of Swat, provide suitable facilities to the women prisoners, regularise the employees of District Development Accounts Committees, provide electricity to people of Mastooj from Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO), launch plantation campaigns in educational institutions, pay compensation to the families of Balochistan mine incident victims, set up Hazara Electric Supply Company, and accelerate diplomatic efforts to resolve tension between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The government presented the annual report of the Public Service Commission for the year 2015, the annual report of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prosecution Service for the year 2016, and the report on Observance and Implementation of Principles of Policy in relation to the affairs of the KP Province for the year 2015. The Public Accounts Committee also presented its report on the Accounts of the Government for the financial year 2013-14.
In addition, the house took up five out of 21 CANs submitted by the lawmakers and the relevant government ministers also responded to these CANs. The remaining 16 CANs were not addressed due to absence of the relevant lawmakers or ministers.
The lawmakers highlighted the issues related to inductions in Health Care Commission during 2016, difficulties faced by students due to online college admission system, irregularities in results of Matric and Intermediate examinations conducted by Malakand Education Board, closure of development schemes in PK-93 constituency, depriving graduates of foreign or private medical colleges from paid house jobs in government hospitals, demarcation of land of other districts in newly notified District Kolai Pallas Kohistan, delay in construction of road in Gulshanabad Peshawar, self-made speed breakers on various roads, lack of facilities at Police Housing Colony Abbottabad and reservations of the Dasu Dam affectees over amount of compensation paid to them by the government.
The FAFEN report also stated that the house held the Question Hour during 10 out of 12 sittings of the session. Out of 140 starred questions, the house took up 73 (52 per cent) questions for answers during the proceedings. The lawmakers also raised 40 supplementary questions to gain further clarity on government’s replies to these questions. The remaining questions were not orally replied to during the proceedings.
