In the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly session on Friday, the K-P Medical Transplantation Regulatory Authority Bill 2012 remained a controversial issue as members raised objections to many of its clauses.
The bill, which was introduced earlier on Monday, was tabled in the house by K-P Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Barrister Arshad Abdullah. Members referred the bill to the house’s standing committee on health for further deliberation.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker Mufti Kifayatullah opposed Clause 4 of the bill related to surrogacy, saying that the committee should delete it.
Speaker Kiramatullah Chagarmati referred the bill to the standing committee on health saying that members who had reservations about it should voice their concerns to the committee.
Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that as the bill has been handed over to the committee, it should no longer be debated in the house.
Lowari Tunnel opening
The assembly also unanimously adopted a resolution moved by K-P Minister for Population Welfare, Saleem Khan, calling for opening the Lowari Tunnel for five hours everyday.
Khan said the tunnel is the only link between Chitral and the rest of the country and was only open thrice a week for passengers, which leads to numerous problems residents.
He asked the provincial government to take up this issue with the federal government.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2012.