Will the establishment allow this to go ahead? Highly unlikely, but one must still keep the that one day the blood sucking establishment will no longer be able to rule over the smaller provinces.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\06\22\story_22-6-2008_pg7_1
NWFP PA demands water royalty
- Assembly passes unanimous resolution seeking abolition of concurrent list, fixed nationwide wheat rates
By Zakir Hassnain
PESHAWAR: The NWFP Assembly unanimously passed a joint resolution on Saturday demanding that the federal government give water royalty to the province.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary leader Pir Sabir Shah, the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Abdul Akbar Khan, the PML-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Qalandar Lodhi, the PPP-Sherpao’s (PPP-S) Sikandar Hayat Sherpao, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Hafiz Akhtar Ali and the Awami National Party’s (ANP) Mian Iftikhar Hussain tabled the joint resolution, that also called for the abolition of the concurrent list to ensure full provincial autonomy, and the lifting of the ban on the inter-provincial movement of wheat.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told the House that Punjab had been using NWFP water since Pakistan came into being “and as such our province should be given water royalties in line with the 1991 Water Accord”.
He said that according to the 1973 Constitution, the concurrent list was to be abolished in 1983 but it still existed. “The concurrent list should be incorporated in the constitutional package and abolished to ensure full provincial autonomy,” the ANP leader said. He also called for the lifting of the ban on the inter-provincial movement of wheat and fixed crop rates like oil and gas all over the country.
PPP-S MPA Sikandar Hayat Sherpao said according to a State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) inflation report published in April 2008, the inflation rate in the country was 17.2 percent, while the inflation rate in Peshawar alone was 18.9 percent that meant expenditures would increase. “It is therefore a deficit budget,” he said. The PPP-S leader said all opposition parties had rejected the arbitration tribunal on net hydroelectric profit in the former MMA government. He said the coalition government should demand for the net hydel profit on the basis of AGN Qazi formula.
The MMA’s MPA Dr Iqbal Din opposed “umbrella schemes”, which his own former government introduced in the budget, and Dr Din demanded the government provide southern districts with drinking water. He said Kohat and Karak produced gas, but residents of these areas were deprived of it.
The MMA member demanded a 50 percent royalty for the gas producing areas. The PML-Q’s Wajihuzzaman said a subsidy should have been given to farmers and agriculture instead of wheat. He proposed the establishment of a school with a hostel at every union council, a burn centre in every district and vocational institutes to train people as a way to alleviate poverty.
Begum Nargis Sameen from the PPP-S said the budget was a continuation of the last budget.
The MMA’s Hafiz Akhtar Ali suggested the provincial government demand more large schemes under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The MMA leader also said the director general (DG) of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) stated on February 16 that no embezzlement or corruption cases were registered against the former MMA government or its members. “Nevertheless, we are ready for accountability,” he said.
The speaker later adjourned the house until Monday.