PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Thursday said his government wasn’t calling the provincial assembly’s sitting due to the issue surrounding the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the house.

“We have planned legislation for good governance and professional merit, but that will happen only after the issue of reserved seats is sorted out,” Mr Gandapur told the oath-taking ceremony for the newly-elected members of the Peshawar Press Club here.

The opposition and the government in the province have been fighting a legal battle since the latter refused to follow the orders of the governor to call a session of the provincial assembly on April 2.

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The opposition repeatedly requested the government to call the assembly’s session for the swearing-in of the MPAs elected to the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims and even petitioned the Peshawar High Court for relief.

Gandapur says legislation planned for good governance

On April 20, the court directed the chief minister and his cabinet to convene the assembly’s session within a fortnight to ensure that those elected to those reserved seats take oaths. However, Mr Gandapur refused to budge and announced that his government had decided to move the Supreme Court against the high court’s orders.

During the press club function, the chief minister also called for reforms in national institutions.

He said that corruption, injustice, and violation of merit in the current system of governance could only be stopped through legislation.

Talking about the province’s rights, the chief minister said that he was proud of his province sharing its resources with others, but it should get its rights.

“The provision of due rights to us [KP] should not be considered a charity. We are humble, but we know how to get hold of our rights. If you [the federal government] don’t give us our rights, we will not let you sit comfortably in Islamabad,” he said.

Mr Gandapur said that the detained former prime minister and PTI founder, Imran Khan, was subjected to injustice. He said justice would be delivered to Imran only when he was freed from jail.

The chief minister said that from people to political activists to security personnel, everyone in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province had rendered great sacrifices.

He lauded the media for raising voice for the province’s rights and highlighting its issues.

Mr Gandapur said that many districts and sectors in the province had lagged behind, so the government would focus on their development in line with Mr Imran’s vision.

He said that the media should identify instances of injustice, and his government would stand by the oppressed.

“I assure you that you will see that you didn’t in the past,” he said.

The chief minister announced the provision of a Rs10,000 monthly stipend to the children of 50 media persons each.

He also said the government would provide Rs50 million grant to the Peshawar Press Club, while work on the media housing scheme in the provincial capital would begin soon.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024