Govt sacks MPs’ relatives as pressure tactics

KABUL (Pajhwok): Wolesi Jirga speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani and some members on Monday claimed the government was dismissing officials who were relatives of lawmakers to avenge voting against the budget draft.

Rahmani emphasized on resolution of the budget draft and said they would not disapprove the draft again but would modify and approve it in line with the Constitution.

The lower house has already rejected the budget draft twice over omitting over 1,100 provincial projects, allocation of higher budget to codes 91 and 92 and not equalizing salaries of government employees.

The lower house has urged the government to equalize salaries of government employees and teachers and warned of disapproving the budget in case they did not include the aforementioned demands in the budget draft.

In Monday’s session, the lawmakers discussed problems in the budget draft and government attempts at preventing the disapproval of the draft.

Some lawmakers claimed that the government had sacked their relatives who served in the government because they had voted against the budget draft.

Habib Rahman Pidram, a lawmaker from Herat province and Abdul Sattar Husseini from Farah province further explaining the matter said, the government was sacking relatives of those lawmakers who voted against the budget draft of 1,400 solar year.

Pidram said the government was conspiring against lawmakers instead of respecting their authorities.

Some other lawmakers also had similar views.

Mir RahmanRahmani said the government was sacking officials related to lawmakers in order to pressurize them to approve the budget draft.

He added that the government had sacked husbands of Robina Jalali, lawmaker from Kabul, Lailuma Hukmi, lawmaker from Nangarhar and brother of Hamida Ahmadzai, representative of the Afghan nomads in the lower house.

The government also sacked Kamil Bik Husseini, selected member of the senate. Kamil Bik Husseini is a relative of a lawmaker in the lower house.

Rahmani said the government’s behavior was against political and administrative ethics. He said the government had dismissed these officials who served the government for years as an act of revenge.

He defined it as threatening and pressurizing lawmakers to approve the budget draft and ignore law-breaking acts of the government.

Rahmani urged the government to ensure security and fight the Taliban, Daesh and other insurgent networks instead of defaming and disrespecting the lower house of representatives.

Rahmani believed the government was weakening the system and did not distinguish between the branches of the government. Rahmani also accused the government of internalizing some of the sectorial projects.

The lower house speaker urged the government to include their suggestions and resolutions into the third budget draft of the next fiscal year.

According to the lower house decision, lawmakers would not disapprove the draft again rather the house would modify the draft in line with the constitution and then approve it.

Rahmani once again emphasized on equalizing salaries of government employees and warned that they would not approve the draft until people’s demand was met.

Pajhwok tried to get the Presidential Palace’s view in this regard but failed despite repeated attempts.

Hr/ma