KP govt flayed for not utilising Rs1 billion foreign grant to build canals.

PESHAWAR -- The opposition criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday over failure to inform the provincial assembly about the reason why Rs1 billion grant provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Gomal Zam Dam Command Area Development Project hasn't been utilised.

During the assembly's question hour, Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Ahmad Kundi complained that he had submitted the question about the non-utilisation of the USAID grant to the assembly's secretariat around a year ago but the irrigation department hadn't replied to it yet.

He feared that the funds would lapse if the department didn't initiate work on the foreign- funded project meant for the construction of canals to irrigate a vast area in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts.The US government had provided funds for the construction of Gomal Zam dam and a reservoir in South Waziristan tribal district. The project will help irrigate around 191,000 acres of land in two districts.

Law and parliamentary affairs minister Sultan Mohammad Khan requested Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani to defer the question due to the absence of irrigation minister Muhibullah Khan.

PA speaker resents absence of cabinet members, says govt shouldn't call session if ministers don't want to come

The speaker asked the minister in a sarcastic manner if he had a magic wand to ensure the attendance of cabinet members in the assembly.

He regretted that only two or three of 16 cabinet members were present in the house.

'The government should not requisition the assembly session if ministers don't want to attend proceedings,' he asked food minister Qalandar Khan Lodhi, who is also the PTI's chief whip.

The chair directed the assembly secretary to send the attendance sheet of ministers, advisers and special assistants to the chief minister on a daily basis.

Finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra and health minister Hisham Inamullah were also absent leading to the deferment of the questions related to their departments.

A majority of the cabinet members, including Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, skipped the assembly's proceedings.

The chief minister had attended only 11 of the 61 working days during the first parliamentary year of the assembly.

Jamaat-i-Islami MPA from Bajaur district Sirajuddin pointed out that the government had released Rs61.75 million and Rs27.68 million for the provincial level hospitals and district level hospitals, respectively, from Zakat fund, but...