KP PA Session Adjourned For Third Time, Chances To Present Budget 2018-19 Die Down

KP PA session adjourned for third time, chances to present budget 2018-19 die down

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :The session of the Khyber Pakthunkhwa Assembly scheduled to commence on Tuesday (May 22) has been postponed for the third consecutive time giving strength to the notion that the PTI had abandoned efforts to present the sixth and final budget of their government in the province apparently due to losing majority in the house.

The KP Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department formally withdrew the notification orders regarding summoning of the assembly session and emailed it to the media organizations and channels. The earlier sessions called by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department KP for May 04 and May 14 were also withdrawn at the eleventh hour by the PTI.

The withdrawal orders of KP Assembly meeting for May 22 has made the chances of presentation of the KP annual budget 2018-19 remote as predicted by the political pundits of the province much earlier.

The political pundits believed that it is almost 'Un-ceremonial Goodbye to the present assembly of the PTI as they are left with only seven days in government to complete their mandated period that is May 28." The postponement of the session for the third time indicated that the KP CM and Speaker have virtually lost majority of the house after parting ways by the main coalition partner, Jamaat-e- Islami and termination of membership of the 14 PTI MPAs by the party leadership over alleged sale and purchase of votes during the recently held Senate elections.

Spokesman for the KP CM Shaukat Yusafzai in a statement while commenting on the postponement of the assembly session maintained that the session was called by the KP Government and postponed the same due to Ramadan, incomplete agenda, and engagements of the MPAs in their Constituencies.

New date for summoning of the KP assembly session would be announced in a few days time, Shaukat Yusafzai maintained. PTI dissident MPA Ziaullah Afridi in his comments said that withdrawal of orders of assembly meeting for third time in a row was against spirit of the constitution.

The PTI government has lost majority of the house that is why it postponed the session of the assembly, he argued. No confidence motion has been tabled against the Speaker and to avoid embarrassment in the house, the PTI postponed the assembly meeting.

The parliamentary leader of Qaumi Watan Party in KP Assembly Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao said that for the last two months the KP Government could not convene assembly session and withdrawn orders of the assembly session for three times in the month of May 2018.

It merits a mention here that the remaining three provinces Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan and the Federal government have presented their sixth budget 2018-19 and got it passed from their respective legislatures as well.

The KP Government was in a fix over the budget presentation issue especially after PTI's Supremo Imran made a statement that PTI government would not present the KP budget 2018-19 taking the plea how a government with 45 days in office could present the five years budget. APP/ash-ayz/azm