PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday passed a bill for the regularisation of the services of another batch of over 4,800 ad hoc and project employees with the members demanding permanent jobs for 14,500 more ad hoc employees.

These ad hoc and project employees are currently working in 58 departments, attached departments and autonomous bodies.

Earlier, the government had regularised 40,000 contractual employees, mostly teachers, through a bill passed by the assembly.After the passage of the bill from the house, the government will issue a notification to formally regularise the services of 4,800 ad hoc and project employees.

The government insists that the ad hoc and project employees, including those working on foreign-funded initiatives, were hired through the National Testing Service.

During the sitting chaired by Speaker Asad Qaisar, tourism minister Mehmood Khan moved a resolution seeking passage of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Employees (Regularisation of Services) Bill, 2018.

The opposition didn`t oppose the bill.

Speaking on a point of order, Pakistan People`s Party member Fakhar Azam demanded the regularisation of another batch of 14,500 ad hoc and contractual employees working in 29 departments and attached directorates.

He said the government had promised on the floor of the housethe regularisadon of services of all ad hoc and contract employees.

The lawmaker said if the remaining contractual employees weren`t regularised, it would be injustice to them.

The chair assured him that the remaining contractual employees would be regularised very soon.

He urged lawmakers to table a private member`s bill in this regard and said the MPA should support the bill.

The assembly also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2018, meant to allow the entry of three public sector universities, including University of Lakki Marwat, University of Agriculture, Dera Ismail Khan, and University of Engineering and Technology, Mardan.

A private member`s bill, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Censorship of Motion Pictures (Film, CDs, Videos, Stage Dramas and Shows Bill, 2018, was also passed by members after PPP MPA Fakhar Azam withdrew four of his fiveproposed amendments to it.

His one amendment to Clause 2 of the bill was incorporated.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf`s flagship Billion Tree Tsunami project once again came under fire in the house with the opposition seeking the chair`s ruling to ask the National Accountability Bureau or KP Ehtesab Commission to hold inquiry into the project.

MPA Ziaullah Afridi, who has been expelled by the PTI, raised the issue on a point of order.

The lawmaker pointed out that the project director had written letter to a localjournabst asking him to provide 10 million saplings of various species at the rate of Rs5 and Rs2.

He said the government was trying to pressure journalists to hide its corruption in the project.

Opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman, MPA Syed Jafar Shah and other opposition members supported the movers and demanded inquiry by the NAB or KPEC into the matter.Higher education minister Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani and parliamentary secretary for environment Fazal Elahi rejected the opposition`s allegations.

The opposition members also opposed the merger of the Benazir Children Hospital with the Mardan Medical Complex and demanded of the government to review the decision.

Health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai disagreed with the opposition`s demand.

By passing a joint resolution, the assembly asked the federal government to use diplomatic channels to ensure ceasebre in Syria to stop the killings of children, women and other civilians.

It also approved a resolution demanding of the federal government not to reduce the number of provincial assembly seats in Abbottabad, Chitral, Haripur, Charsadda and Swabi districts.

The resolution said the number of PA seats of the respective districts had been reduced in light of the 2017 census report.Higher education minister Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani and parliamentary secretary for environment Fazal Elahi rejected the opposition`s allegations.

The opposition members also opposed the merger of the Benazir Children Hospital with the Mardan Medical Complex and demanded of the government to review the decision.

Health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai disagreed with the opposition`s demand.

By passing a joint resolution, the assembly asked the federal government to use diplomatic channels to ensure ceasebre in Syria to stop the killings of children, women and other civilians.

It also approved a resolution demanding of the federal government not to reduce the number of provincial assembly seats in Abbottabad, Chitral, Haripur, Charsadda and Swabi districts.

The resolution said the number of PA seats of the respective districts had been reduced in light of the 2017 census report.