National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Wednesday constituted an 18-member special committee with equal participation of treasury and opposition benches to resolve House-related issues.
The decision followed the unanimous adoption of a resolution regarding the same after the arrests of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers from within the Parliament House premises. According to the notification, the government would be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Defense Minister Khawaja Asif; PPP’s Khursheed Shah and Naveed Qamar; MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Aminul Haq; Overseas Pakistanis Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain; Privatization Minister Aleem Khan; and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. Meanwhile, the opposition is represented by BAP’s Khalid Hussain Magsi; Ijazul Haq; Pullain of the National Party; Hamid Raza; Gohar Ali Khan; Shahida Begum; Akhtar Mengal; Hameed Hussain; and Mehmood Khan Achakzai.
“In pursuance of motion adopted by the National Assembly on 11th September 2024, under Rule 244(B) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, the honorable speaker, National Assembly has been pleased to constitute a special committee with the following composition and TOR,” reads the circular issued by the NA Secretariat.
The terms of reference of the committee include discussing, analyzing and firming up “recommendations regarding issues related to the parliament, parliamentarians, Constitution, the rules of procedure and conduct of business in the National Assembly, 2007 and smooth functioning of the parliament.”
Earlier, the speaker had proposed devising a “Charter of Parliament” along the pattern of the “Charter of Democracy” signed between Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto in 2006.
Addressing the National Assembly, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had also criticized the arrests from Parliament’s premises, warning the coalition government that following the path set by the PTI-led government would only further political victimization.
“If the government’s only job is to decide who we should put behind bars today [because] Khan did this and spoiled the [political] climate … then you may be happy for one day but tomorrow you and I will be in the same jail,” he warned, while censuring the PTI for using the same confrontational tone in Parliament as they did public rallies.
Stressing that Parliament required lawmakers to act responsibly, he regretted that the condition had deteriorated to a point where political rivals did not even want to shake hands. Urging the PTI to pursue relief for its founder, Imran Khan, in courts, he urged them to remain active participants in the parliamentary process for the betterment of the public.