PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday condemned the killing of over 100 students and teachers in the recent US bombing of a graduation ceremony at a seminary in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province.

By unanimously adopting a resolution, the house asked the federal government to raise the issue at international forums, including the United Nations, to ‘expose the US barbarism’.

Pakistan People’s Party MPA Fakhar Azam tabled the resolution, which was unanimously adopted.

The resolution declared the US attack on seminary inhuman and open terrorism and said the US aggression was an open challenge to the international community but no country condemned it.

Speaker Asad Qaisar presided over the session, which was requisitioned by the government.

With a single item on the agenda, the proceedings ended within 30 minutes of the start due to thin attendance. Only six members of the ruling coalition were present in the house.

Despite the Peshawar High Court’s directives, Speaker Asad Qaisar didn’t issue production order of minority MPA-elect Baldev Kumar of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, who has been jailed in the Sardar Soran Singh murder case. Mr Baldev has been declared the prime suspect in the murder case.

Another resolution warned against the possible revocation or abolition of 18th Constitutional Amendment.

It called for concerted efforts to prevent any move to amend the Constitution and demanded that 18th Amendment be implemented in letter and spirit.

The mover said certain forces wanted to roll back the 18th Constitutional Amendment and that a conspiracy was being hatched to withdraw the provincial autonomy by abolishing the 18th Amendment.

Earlier, law and parliamentary affairs minister Imtiaz Shahid and dissident PTI member Amjad Afridi exchanged barbs over the issue of the distribution of funds in the head of royalty on oil and gas.

Mr Afridi complained about injustice meted to his constituency over the distribution of royalty funds during the government of the ‘champions of justice’ and said three constituencies had been denied due rights.

The minister informed the house that a huge sum of Rs1 billion had been released by the provincial government but the legislator concerned moved the court against the distribution of funds.

He said the court had vacated the stay order but the Election Commission of Pakistan had inappropriately banned the release of development funds.

On a point of order, Qaumi Watan Party MPA Abdul Karim Khan demanded the distribution of tobacco cess in the constituencies of Swabi district.

He recalled that a committee headed by senior minister Shahram Khan was directed to present a report in that respect in two weeks but despite the passage of 35 days, it had yet to be done.

Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli of the QWP decried the non-implementation of the government’s assurances.

The speaker adjourned the proceedings until at 3pm on Monday.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2018