QUETTA: The Balochistan assembly has adopted an amendment to the local government bill paving the way for holding of local body elections on party basis in the province.
Minister Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal tabled the amendment bill in the session held on Friday and presided over by Deputy Speaker Mir Quddus Bizenjo.
On a point of order, opposition member Sardar Abdur Rehman Khetran said the bill should not have been moved in the absence of chief minister. He said the provincial cabinet had no minister for local bodies.
The deputy speaker said the chief minister had authorised Mr Ziaratwal to table the bill in the house.
The house also passed the Balochistan Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (Amended) Bill, 2013 that was tabled also by Mr Ziaratwal.
The house passed a resolution that demanded of the government to remove speed-breakers on national highways and to link them with M-8 Motorway.
Moved by Nawab Mohammad Khan Shahwani, the resolution stated that speed-breakers had been constructed in violation of law and that they had caused a number of accidents in which many lives had been lost.
Majid Khan Achakzai, Sardar Abdur Rehman Khetran, Nawab Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Dr Hamid Khan Achakzai, Mir Karim Nausherwani, Manzoor Kakar, Sardar Reza Mohammad Barach and Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal spoke on the resolution.
They said proper arrangements should be made for the checking of vehicles by security personnel.
Santosh Kumar from treasury benches said on a point of order that a senior officer had refused to give him time for some work. As a protest against the official he sat down on the floor in the house.
However, Mr Ziaratwal, Sarfaraz Bugti, Sardar Aslam Bizenjo and Khalid Lango took him back to his seat.
Earlier, the chair administered the oath of membership to Nawabzada Tariq Magsi, Prince Ahmed Ali and Mohammad Khan Lehri who were elected to the house in the recently held by-elections.
The session was adjourned sine die.