Peshawar - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday debated the rising prices of flour, with Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani ruling that the deputy commissioner concerned should be suspended in a district where roti or flour was not available on official rate.
Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) took up the issue and said a 20kg flour bag was being sold at Rs.1300.
PPP’s Nighat Orakzai said that despite being an agricultural country, why flour was getting expensive and people standing in queues for getting the commodity.
Mushtaq Ghani said the government should import wheat from abroad next year and not to rely on supply from Punjab.
In his reply, Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Kamran Bangash assured availability of flour on official rates. He said 2,000 tons wheat was being provided to flourmills on a daily basis. Food Minister Qalandar Khan Lodhi claimed 120-gram roti was available at Rs.10 in all bazaars. He said flour was being released at subsidized rates to all districts.
The speaker also directed the chief minister’s special assistant on information to submit a report regarding grants to press clubs in the merged tribal districts.
The House unanimously accepted for discussion the adjournment motion of Inayatulllah Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) regarding reported violation of rules in reappointments of retired doctors in Lady Reading Hospital (LRH). Law Minister Sultan Muhammad Khan’s resolution regarding formation of standing committees was also passed.
Laiq Muhammad Khan, a lawmaker from Torghar, said the government must initiate an inquiry into the alleged negligence of an eye specialist at Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad where nine people lost their eyesight and had to be referred to Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) later on. The speaker ordered a report of the issue within three days.
The House also adopted the KP Reproductive Healthcare Rights Bill, 2020, with the opposition staging a walkout. The session was adjourned till Tuesday (today) 2pm.
