Though the members from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) resisted the election of a treasury member as chairman of the special parliamentary committee on Karachi and Quetta unrest for about one-and-a-half hours, a majority of members belonging to the treasury benches, prevailed upon the N leaguers and finally got Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah elected the committee chairman.
This would be second committee of the parliament headed by Shah, who is also the chairman of the parliamentary committee on Election Commission of Pakistan. A participant of the committee informed Pakistan Today that soon after the start of debate for electing the chairman, Awami National Party member and Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour proposed the name of Khursheed Shah for the chairmanship, which was endorsed by other treasury members. “However, all four PML-N members, led by Mehtab Khan Abbasi, opposed the suggestion, saying that no member from the political parties who had stakes in Karachi conflict should be made chairman of the special committee,” the source said. Abbasi said if a member from any political outfit having stake in Karachi violence was nominated as the chairman, the objective of the committee would not be achieved. The source said the PML-N members did not propose any member’s name for the top slot. He said MQM’s Haider Abbas Rizvi jumped in to rescue Shah, saying the debate would have a negative impact on the committee’s objectives, as well as the spirit of the decision to form the committee. “Rizvi said the decision should be taken unanimously, though the treasury had majority and could choose a chairman on its own. He also urged the N leaguers to repose confidence in Shah who was a seasoned politician, a thorough gentleman and always played his role in the national assembly by accommodating the viewpoint of the opposition,” the source said.
Finally after a long debate, the PML-N members agreed to the majority view and Shah was unanimously elected as the chairman of the National Assembly Special Committee on Law and Order in Karachi and Quetta, the source added. The election was conducted by Karamat Hussain Niazi, the NA secretary. The source added that later, Abbasi objected to the mandate given to the parliamentary committee, saying there was a dire need to review and rephrase the terms of reference (ToRs) of the committee, as prescribed ToRs were vague and did not give powers to the committee to play its role in fixing responsibility against anyone for the chaos in Karachi and Quetta. The committee thus decided to constitute a two-member sub-committee of Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada of the PML-Q and Zahid Hamid of the PML-N to suggest amendments in the ToRs of the committee. It was also decided that the approval of the amended ToRs would be sought from the lower house of parliament during its upcoming session due on September 12. Later, Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah expressed his gratitude to his fellow parliamentarians for reposing confidence in him by electing him the chairman. He assured them of endeavouring to make the committee purposeful.
