Opposition Senators stage token walkout over delay in Fata's merger with KP

The opposition lawmakers on Tuesday staged a token walkout from Senate in protest against skipping the last agenda item pertaining to merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the federal cabinet in its meeting.
The federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dropped the agenda item at the eleventh hour which angered the lawmakers belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as the MPs belonging to FATA, who have been pressing for bringing tribal areas into mainstream.
Speaking on a point of public importance, Senator Ilyas Bilour of Awami National Party (ANP) said the agenda item which was dropped on the insistence of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman would cost the government dear. "You've just heard of sit-ins [and] we'll show you what sit-in means as the people of KP along with their brethren in tribal areas will stage sit-in against the government for delaying merger of KP [into KP] intentionally," he warned.
All the opposition lawmakers, including MPs of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), walked out of the House, saying they all stand together as there would be no compromise on the inordinate delay in merging FATA into KP which is the demand of the tribal people. Later, holding a press conference outside the Parliament House, the opposition MPs, reiterated their demand of immediately resolving the issue, adding all opposition parties are ready to fight side by side with tribal people.
Bilour said that the opposition parties, especially his party, is ready to go to any extent in case of any further delay in resolving the issue of FATA merger. The opposition lawmakers would join the FATA lawmakers who have given March 12 deadline to the government in this regard, he added. "If this issue remains unresolved due to the attitude of the government, there will be bloodshed so the sooner the issue is resolved the better it would be," he warned.
BILL: Abolition of Privy Purses and Privileges (Amendment) Bill, 2017, a money bill, was laid in Senate. Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid laid the bill on behalf of Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lieutenant General Abdul Qadir Baloch ((Retd)). It was then referred to concerned standing committee of the house with directives to senators to submit their recommendation latest by February 16.
According to statement of objects and reasons, article 5 (a & b) of the Rulers of Acceding States (Abolition of Privy Purses and Privileges) Order, 1972 (PO No. 15 of 1972) do not provide for enhancement in maintenance allowance as proposed by the cabinet. The maintenance allowance was sanctioned to the rulers of acceding states or their dependents in lieu of privy purses at the relevant time but due to inflationary pressure it has lost its worth. The cabinet, therefore, in its meeting held on 24th May, 2006 read with Cabinet Decision dated 15.11.2007, decided to enhance the monthly maintenance allowance to ex-rulers of all merged and acceding states and their dependents by 200% subject to minimum allowance of Rs25,000 per annum.
Besides, the cabinet in its meeting held on July 15, 2016 approved the Amendment to the "Rulers of Acceding States (Abolition of Privy Purses and Privileges) Order, 1972. This object can be achieved by suitably amending the provisions of Article 5 of the Presidential Order No15 of 1972.
Four more bills were also introduced in the House. The bills include 'The Limited Liability Partnership Bill, 2017,' 'The Pakistan Climate Change Bill, 2017,' 'The Explosive Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2017' and 'The Costs of Litigation Bill, 2017.' The bills were moved by Zahid Hamid, which were then referred to the concerned standing committees for further deliberations by Deputy Chairman Senate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri.
Calling attention: Colonel Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi ((Retd)) of MQM drew the attention of the government towards illegal sale of unhygienic milk mixed with chemicals, both in open and packed form in the federal capital. He said that the government is paying no heed to what is going on in the capital, as sale of adulterated milk has become a routine matter. Finding pure milk for newborns or for any other purpose has become an uphill task, he lamented.
Responding to another calling attention notice, State Minister for Interior Baleeghur Rehman said that effective measures are being taken against adulterated milk. He said hundreds of cases have been registered and over 22,000 litres of adulterated milk has been confiscated, adding stern action is being taken against toxic and unhygienic milk. "The issue of adulterated is not new, as it has been practiced for decades but this government has given standing orders to deputy commissioner Islamabad to deal with such elements with an iron hand," he added. The Council of Common Interests (CCI) report for 2015-16 was also laid in the house.