PESHAWAR: Rumpus disrupted a debate on loadshedding in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday as members of treasury and opposition benches taunted each other instead of holding a constructive discussion on the issue.

Discussion on the excessive power cuts, which have badly affected millions of people in the province during the current humid weather, remained inconclusive before Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani postponed the sitting until next Monday.

The speaker had summoned the session on the opposition’s requisition to discuss the prevailing loadshedding and other issues.

Before the discussion on power crisis in the province began, the opposition lawmakers consumed more than one hour on point of orders related to multiple issues putting the main agenda item on the back burner.

The chair showing ‘generosity’ gave the floor to 15 members of the opposition to speak on points of order to highlight their issues.

After tea break, he asked law and parliamentary affairs minister Sultan Mohammad Khan and labour minister Shaukat Yousafzai to respond to those issues.

Opposition complains KP subjected to power outages despite producing surplus electricity

Starting debate on power crisis in the province, parliamentary leader of the opposition Awami National Party Sardar Hussain Babak slammed Wapda and federal and KP governments over unscheduled loadshedding, low voltage and excessive billing.

He said the province’s total electricity consumption was around 3,000 megawatts against total production of more than 6,000 megawatts.

Mr Babak said despite generating surplus electricity, the people of the province were being subjected to 15-20 hours loadshedding daily that was unacceptable. He said Tarbela dam produced over 4,000MW alone.

The ANP leader said the centre was neither supplying electricity to the province nor was it paying the latter due share in net hydel profit.

He said authorities were intentionally inciting people to take the law in own hands and stop power supply.

Mr Babak said a major cause of power crisis in the province was faulty transmission lines as they couldn’t bear electricity load.

The opposition members began hue and cry when the speaker gave the floor to minister Shaukat Yousafzai for response to power issues.

The chair warned that he would prorogue the session if the opposition didn’t change its behaviour.

He said members were misusing points of order, so he would allow only two points of order in one sitting.

The issue of the solarisation of 4,000 mosques in the province also came under discussion.

ANP lawmaker Khushdil Khan said the government approved a scheme in the current annual development programme for the solarisation of 20-70 mosques in every constituency except PK-70 and PK-71 (Peshawar).

He said only two mosques in those two constituencies had been included in the solarisation programme.

“I will go to the court if these two constituencies are not given equal share in the scheme,” he said.

Law minister Sultan Khan promised the resolution of the issue and asked the lawmaker not to move the court on it.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl member Hafiz Hisamuddin demanded the elimination of landmines from Badder area of South Waziristan tribal district.

He said instead of clearing landmines, security forces had fenced the area.

The opposition lawmaker said many people, including women and children, had lost life in landmine explosions.

He sought cooperation from security forces to clear the area from landmines.

The chair ordered the expunging of ‘harsh remarks’ of lawmakers from records.

The law minister said the issue would be taken up with the relevant authorities. He said the issue of delay in customs clearance of Afghan transit goods would be taken up with Kabul through Foreign Office for corrective measures.

He said thousands of trucks carrying goods to Afghanistan were stranded on Pakistani side of the border due to slow clearance by the Afghan authorities

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2020