The KP Assembly with Presiding Officer Shaukat Ali Yusafzai in the chair on Monday passed a bill to provide Rs 1 million to journalists who are killed in the line of duty during terrorism incidents in the province.
The KP Journalists Welfare Endowment Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was moved by Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani in the assembly.
The passage of the bill also allows payment of Rs. 20,000 to the family members of deserving journalist in case of his death or to the deserving journalist in case of death of any of his family member as funeral charges.
Similarly, Rs. 20,000 will be paid for medical treatment of the deserving journalist or his family members, the bill stated. The journalist who became permanently disabled due to any reason will be paid Rs. 200,000, once journalists compensated or assisted will not be entitled to claim for any other compensation under any other law for the time being in forced, the bill concluded.
The house also passed a resolution against double fine by the Provincial Transport Authority (PTA) on delay payment of route permit and renewal of permit in the province.
The resolution moved by Saleh Muhammad PMLN stated that the police imposed fine of Rs5000 on the late payment of route permit and imposed fine of Rs520 on the renewal of permit which is great injustice. He called for abolition of the same. The motion was put to vote by the chair.
Replying to point of order raised by PTI Mehmood Jan, the Minister for Religious Affairs Habibur Rehman said provision of facilities to the intending pilgrims by the private tours operators fall in the domain of the federal Government.
Jan complained that private tour operators did not provide the required facilities to the pilgrims which they pledged to provide at the time of departure. He said that the pilgrims performing the Hajj on government’s quota were charging Rs. 130,000 and Rs. 65,000 respectively whereas the private tour operators charged more than the government but provides very less facilities.
Asmatullah of JUIF in his call attention notice drew the attention of the house towards shifting of the site location of the police station in Kohistan.
Replying to the call attention notice, minister for labour Shah Farman told the house that police station would be constructed at the site mentioned in the ADP 2015-16.
To a calling attention notice from Najma Shaheen of JUIF, the health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai assured that an extra security guard would be provided for Women and Children Hospital Kohat and construction of boundary wall around the hospital.
Najma Shaheen had referred to poor dilapidated condition of said hospital in Kohat which she maintained has become unsecured due to collapsing of the boundary wall.
