PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak seems to have lost the way to the provincial assembly as he has attended its few sittings during the ongoing parliamentary year.

The information gathered from different sources suggests that the chief minister has attended not more than five sittings during the current parliamentary year so far that included presentation of the annual budget and election of the deputy speaker.

“I don’t think Mr. Khattak has attended more than five sittings,” an official in the assembly secretariat said, adding that the secretariat did not maintain the attendance of the chief minister.

CM attended not more than five of 34 PA sessions in current parliamentary year

The assembly has so far 34 sittings in the current parliamentary year, which started on May 28.

An official of the Free and Fair Election Network told Dawn that his organisation had monitored 19 sittings of the KP Assembly from Oct 19, 2015 to Jan 11, 2016.

He said during that period, CM Khattak attended two sittings only.

The official said CM Khattak regularly took part in the house’s proceedings in the first parliamentary year of the assembly. He said a total of 63 sittings were held in the first year and the chief minister attended 27 of them, which was good compared to the current year.

The network monitors parliamentary business in the National and four provincial assemblies and compiles its annual report.

The official said Fafen was not allowed to cover complete proceedings of the KP Assembly during the ongoing parliamentary year due to security reasons.

Several serious incidents took place in the province including attacks on the Army Public School and College Peshawar, Bacha Khan University Charsadda, controversy with the centre over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, and monetary disputes.

However, CM Khattak never bothered to give policy statement to take the house in confidence.

Like the chief minister, his ministers, advisors, special assistants and administrative secretaries also do not show interest in the house’s proceedings. In the absence of the ministers and advisers, Speaker Asad Qaisar, who belongs to the ruling PTI, either has to keep the business pending or adjourn the sittings. However, the treasury benches do not take the speaker’s notices and rulings seriously.

PML-N parliamentary leader Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha said the assembly had become ineffective due to the disinterest of the chief minister and his cabinet members.

“The administrative secretaries and officers of the relevant departments will not take the assembly’s proceedings seriously when the chief minister and his colleagues do not show interest in the business,” he said.

Special assistant to the chief minister on information and public relations Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani said Pervez Khattak had to chair important meetings and dispose of file work in his secretariat and therefore, he could not spare time to participate in the assembly’s business.

“Yes, he (Khattak) is not going regularly to the assembly, but I don’t agree that he attended only five sittings,” he said. He was of the view that chief minister’s schedule was very tight and he worked till late night. “We have little time and the agenda is too big. We have to work hard to show results. The chief minister’s schedule is very hectic. Similarly, secretaries are also busy with the chief minister,” said Mr. Ghani.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2016