ANP and Electricity

        In the NWFP, Awami National Party emerged as major political party in the Provincial Assembly in the 2008 elections. The success is mainly attributed first to the split in the MMA when Jumaat Islami got separation and secondly to the further split in JUI when birds of same feathers faced each other in the election arena. The ANP made many promises with the people of Frontier regarding electricity and resources of the Province and after elections made coalition Governments with other political parties. People knew that promises never come true and the same is seen by everyone now. It is admitted that event of Swat operation came and gone but such issues were mainly handled by the Federal Government and the people of areas adjoining Swat and Buneer with whom the IDPs had blood relations.

        The attacks on the leaders of ANP one after another somewhat derailed them from their task for which they had got votes from the people. Virtually the leadership was out of contact with the voters due to fear of suicide attacks. Some persons showed boldness and were attacked in Swat and other areas.

        Mr. Pervaiz Khan MNA, handled the situation in the National Assembly and spoke on every issue of public importance that is why in the report released by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) his name is missing from the list of non-performing persons.

        I agree with the concerns of the PILDAT that ANP leader’s attendance was weak. What this leader would do in the next coming Local Bodies election. Whether he would remain hidden from his voters and supporters or would come out of his hibernation. What would be shown to the people for the two years’ ruling?

        At this moment, I solute to the boldness of the American Secretary of State for foreign affairs, lady Hilary Clinton for wandering everywhere in Pakistan on her visit and met everyone with whom she wanted to meet. She felt at home and did not think for a moment that she was in a Country which is at war against terrorism.

        At this moment, I remember Mr. Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, who boldly faced situation after every attack and did not hide for a moment.

        I solute to all the martyrs of ANP who faced the situations boldly and gave their lives. The people of their areas would fully support their sons and relative for the bravery of their elders.

        The religious parties are struggling calmly and with a new strategy. They are increasing their contact with the masses although they had badly disappointed the people during their tenure. Mr. Khairullah Hawari, a leader of Tanzeem-e-Aasatiza, (Teachers’ Organization) is speedily getting the sympathies of the aggrieved teachers and even knocked the doors of the various Courts. First he assisted the teachers in getting Advance Increments through the Court and now has challenged the validity of the regularization of contract Senior English Teachers in the Peshawar High Court. The Government regularized many contract teachers but ignored all those in-service teachers who are qualified but are spending time in the hope of a policy better for their promotion from lower posts to higher posts. Litigation against the Government shows that the Government is the usurper of the rights of the Teachers and is responsible for all the injustices so far done with the Teachers. When you consider your own elected Government responsible for the plight and grievances then how you can give him support in the next elections. In my opinion, in bringing of the Government of MMA in NWFP, the teachers had played a major role because both were related to the Teaching matters but the MMA gave benefits to only their own turbaned and long bearded people and gave them double pay scales of their respective posts. They elevated the religious teachers in the High Schools from BPS-7 to BPS-14 and from BPS-8 to BPS-16 while badly ignored the other teaches especially the untrained Teachers who were struggling up to the Supreme Court. Apparently, they opposed General Musharraf but in reality supported him from the core their hearts.

        I am grateful to the ANP Government who allowed the annual increments to the untrained Teachers but complain the denial of Back Benefits. Denial of the Back Benefits spread frustration among the teachers because under the law when you admitted the right of a person from a certain date in the past then you cannot deny him the arrears of the right.

        Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was supported by the people only on this reason that he sincerely wished the people to get their rights. So far the ideas of the late Khan were preached and the people accepted but now the people are of the opinion that Bacha Khan is dead and it is not the religious duty of Pakhtoons nation (Pathans) to accept every dictation from Charsadda that is why the people gradually joined other political parties. The same is situation with other political parties. There was a time when only ANP candidates were elected from our area but now other parties also got success which indicates that people have no proverbial affiliation with ANP. Personally, I have never looked to any political party but to the personality who became a candidate of a party. There are more such like me that is why different people at different times got success.

        In the future, I see General Musharraf a big threat to all the political parties just like Mr. Z.A. Bhutto in the past when PPP got countrywide success in the election. The slogan of PPP was very sweat and touched the heart of the people and thus caused defeat of many age-old political parties.

        General Musharraf shall get success provided he blocked the way of fugitives from other political parties or the rejected and dejected persons from other political parties. General Musharraf was condemned only for his unconstitutional measures otherwise he is a personality of versatile mind. He will have to bring to the mainstream of politics people from the Universities, colleges, Schools, factories and common citizens having sufficient insight on political and administrative sides.

        The recipe of the present turmoil is not Sufism or grave worshipping but to give to the nation a new hope by bringing them at par with the rest of the world. I never saw Musharraf attending the grave of any saint because he was a pragmatic person and knew that the need is not to runway from the hardships of life but to face them boldly.

        I am admiring Musharraf only for this reason that I see him a big challenge to the existing political parties. If they failed in their task then people would compel him to come back because this nation is not slave of any political party nor any political party has conquered this nation. This is a free nation and can give support to whomsoever it liked. No more dust can be thrown in the eyes of the people.

        Supply of electricity is not such matter to be handled in months but in several years. But the ANP portrayed the pictured so skillfully that each one believed in them. Now the silence on the issue is meaningful.

        The fruits of NFC Award should go to the masses because previously the Provincial Governments held the Federal Government for not providing them their rights. Now the Provinces have been empowered to deal the financial matters. Salaries of the Government servants at present are not making up their requirements. Two years have passed and the people are justified to ask the ANP to show at least 40 percent work on their election manifesto. The wearer knows where the shoe pinches.

        Thanks to independent media which is revealing everything to the people to have their comments on the performance of their leaders.

Manzoor Ahmad Yousafzai

Saturday, March 20, 2010.

NA failed to resolve major disputes, says report

By Amir Wasim
Tuesday, 02 Mar, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The present National Assembly (NA) has so far failed to play a meaningful role in resolving major national conflicts and crises which hit the country with increasing frequency, says a report issued by a non-governmental organisation on the completion of the second parliamentary year.

“The confrontation between judiciary and the executive on the appointment of judges and implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgment on National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) are two recent questions which considerably raised national political temperature but the parliament failed to resolve either of these by timely action,” says the preliminary report released by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) here on Monday.

The report says effective involvement of parliamentary parties in developing party stances also seemed a distant dream.

“Most of the parliamentary parties meet infrequently and for brief periods,” it adds.

The government laid 65 presidential ordinances before the National Assembly during the second parliamentary year to be ended on March 15, including 38 ordinances promulgated during the previous government and accorded “permanence” through the defunct emergency declared by former military ruler Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007.

The Supreme Court in its judgment of July 31, 2009 declared the emergency null and void and placed the fate of these ordinances at the disposal of the Parliament.

During the second parliamentary year, the president promulgated 27 new ordinances, while last year 17 ordinances were issued.

The NA met for a total of 101 working days. The assembly saw an increase of 24 per cent in the total time it met compared to the first parliamentary year and met at an average for 3.41 hours a day compared to 2.86 hours during the first year.

Punctuality in the session starting on time continues to be an area requiring improvement. On the average, a sitting started late by about 40 minutes.

The practice of MNAs making a beeline around the seat of the prime minister in the lower house to meet him and present their applications also continued during the second year, though the MNAs were publicly reprimanded repeatedly by the chair during the sessions and asked to take their issues to the PM’s Chamber and not disrupt the proceedings.

Key legislation such as the Holders of Public Offices (Accountability) Bill that was introduced in the house on April 15, last year, remained pending despite repeated promises and public statements by the government.

The bill, which carries several controversial clauses, remains at the committee stage despite the passage of 10 months after its introduction.

The NA website that had seen some significant improvement during the first year has become stagnant. For some inexplicable reason, complete text of the debates is not placed on the website.

Record of committee meetings is also incomplete on the website. Tracking of bills and members’ attendance record, too, continue to be missing from the website. The report observes that some senior parliamentarians who can serve as a model for young parliamentarians have lowered their participation level in the parliamentary business.

ANP chief Asfandyar Wali’s participation in the assembly proceedings in general and as chairman of the prestigious Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs has been inexplicably weak.

The report says Farooq Leghari, Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi are some of the most prominent MNAs whose lack of active participation does not serve the cause of democracy and supremacy of the Parliament.