PESHAWAR: Lawmakers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday complained about Telenor’s poor cellular network services in hilly areas of the province and demanded an immediate action to the relief of residents.

During a session chaired by Deputy Speaker Suriya Bibi, the members complained that Shangla, Dir, Battagram and other areas were hit by the issue.

Treasury member Abdul Munim from Shangla said that 98 per cent of the mobile towers installed in his area were owned by Telenor but there had been no cellular service for almost one year.

He said almost 80pc of the residents lived outside the country but they couldn’t speak to their family members due to poor cellular network services.

Complain expats struggling to contact family members in region

The lawmaker requested the chair to call the cellular network’s management to the house over the issue and warn if it couldn’t provide uninterrupted services, mobile towers should be removed to allow other willing mobile service providers to begin operations in those areas.

Another treasury member, Taj Mohammad from Battagram district, seconded the point and said Telenor should either provide cellular services or remove their systems.

Lawmaker Anwar Khan of the treasury benches from Dir region also echoed the issue and said people of his constituency suffered from poor cellular network services.

He said most locals, who worked overseas, struggled to reach out to their families for weeks.

Mr Khan urged the chair to give a ruling on the matter.

MPA Abdul Karim Khan from Bunir area said that his constituency residents got stuck at the airport after deportation from Malaysia.

He accused the Federal Investigation Agency employees and other staff members at the Islamabad airport of demanding bribes from deportees.

Minister for law and parliamentary affairs Aftab Alam Afridi acknowledged poor cellular network services and said the issue was not limited to hilly areas but the residents of the provincial capital also faced the problem.

He said that the federal government was carrying out “experiments” in terms of installing firewalls.

The minister said KP had a huge share in foreign remittances, with 40pc of that amount being contributed by KP residents.

He said the residents of his constituency had been complaining about the issue but the relevant provincial officials declared that it was beyond their mandate and the federal government should be approached for the purpose.

“The chair should give a ruling and call authorities to appear before us for an explanation. This issue will not be tolerated anymore,” he said.

The deputy speaker said that Chitral residents also faced the issue and said the relevant officials should be called over it.

“The assembly secretary should call all complainants to the meeting within a week,” she said.

The house passed the KP Laws Amendment Bill, 2024, which was tabled by law minister Aftab Alam Afridi. The bill passage came after JUI-F member Adnan Khan withdrew his proposed amendments.

Taj Mohammad Khan of the treasury benches, who spoke over a calling attention notice of PML-N member Jalal Khan, said there was a shortage of water in Hayatabad Township.

He said that people regularly paid bills but drinking water was not available to them.

The member requested the chair to send the calling attention notice to the relevant house committee.

The minister said there were around 90 water supply schemes in the township, so the areas should be identified to resolve the issue. He said watering plants of the greenbelt was done through the same facilities that wasted water.

“The provincial government has written a letter to the irrigation department to water plants on the greenbelt from the canal system,” he said.

JUI-F member Adnan Khan said he also lived in the same area and filed several complaints with the PDA.

The chair later referred the calling attention notice to the relevant house committee after voting.

While speaking on her calling attention notice, JUI-F member Rehana Ismail complained that male technicians carried out ultrasounds of female patients in the province’s largest health facility, Lady Reading Hospital, which was an act against local norms.

She said many male attendants with female patients refused such testing.

Mohammad Zahir Shah of the treasury benches told the house that several questions were raised in the health sector.

He said several male gynaecologists treated women, with male and female staff members working together and examining patients.

The deputy speaker said as a woman, she supported the calling attention notice. She urged the government to take immediate action.

Mr Afridi said most of the female doctors opted for gynaecology but they, too, had voiced concerns during a recent house committee meeting.

He said female doctors should opt for other medical fields, including radiology, as well.

Ms Ismail said that posting of female doctors to hard areas should be incentivised.

The calling attention notice was later sent to the concerned house committee through voting in the house.

The chair later adjourned the session until Nov 26.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024