MUZAFFARABAD: The coalition government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Thursday unilaterally bulldozed legislation business in the assembly amid a boycott by the tiny opposition.

The Legislative Assembly session was convened by the government in a surprise move on Wednesday evening after the lapse of almost four months of the current parliamentary year. Ironically, during the last three months of the last parliamentary year, the coalition government had held sessions hardly on three working days.

Even the current year’s budget was bulldozed in a single day without any debate or discussion.

At the very outset, PTI’s regional president Abdul Qayyum Niazi and leader of the opposition Khawaja Farooq Ahmed raised objections that their colleague Chaudhry Maqbool Gujjar had been denied entry in the house despite the fact he had been granted interim relief by the AJK Supreme Court.

Seven bills introduced and referred to special committee that did not include any opposition legislator

Mr Gujjar’s election in July 2021 from LA-35 Jammu-II was challenged by his rival from the PML-N in an election tribunal, which in its decision announced on October 3 had ordered re-election in the constituency.

On his appeal on October 6, the AJK apex court had ordered maintenance of status quo till its disposal.

However, law minister Mian Abdul Waheed maintained that Mr Gujjar was an alien in the house and hence could not be allowed entry. Deputy speaker Chaudhry Riaz, who was presiding over the session, also agreed with the minister’s stance and dismissed the opposition’s plea.

Taking floor shortly afterwards, Jammu Kashmir People’s Party (JKPP) chief Sardar Hassan Ibrahim, who also sits on the opposition benches, regretted that over the past five months AJK had been witnessing series of protests on issues of public concern but the government did not bother to convene the assembly session to discuss the situation.

And ironically even after five months there was no resolution on the agenda to express support and solidarity with our Palestinian brothers on the one hand and struggling Kashmiris on the other, he added.

He said while the Public Service Commission was inactive and people had no money to buy even bread for their children, the government had introduced a bill to enhance the privileges of [former prime] ministers which was very painful.

During the question hour, opposition leader Ahmed regretted that the government was avoiding holding assembly sessions to evade answerability and accountability.

“My 10 marked questions from the agenda. […] Where will we talk about the issues of our people if you are unwilling to convene sessions,” he said.

The opposition MLAs maintained that they could not become part of unilateral proceedings which the government was out to bulldoze at the might of its numerical strength and staged a walkout.

In their absence, the law minister introduced around seven bills which were referred to a special house committee that did not include any opposition legislator.

Among the bills was “AJK Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) (Amendment) Act 2023,” whereby a former prime minister would be entitled to an officially purchased jeep up to 3000cc engine capacity, services of a driver, gunman, security officer and three police guards at his residence.“

The enhanced privileges were a replacement to the previous entitlement of an official 1600cc-1800cc car and services of a driver and a gunman to a former prime minister.

Other privileges and allowances of a former premier were not changed, including house rent equivalent to that of a minister’s as well as 400 litres of fuel per month at state expense.

Interestingly, in Thursday’s session, PML-N leader and former premier Raja Farooq Haider changed his seat in the front row and sat in the rear. He too criticised the government for the way the session had been hurriedly convened.

Mr Haider and prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq have been exchanging barbs through the media for the past several days.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2023