ISLAMABAD – In an effort to keep the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) engaged in dialogue, the government on Tuesday announced the formation of a 12-member parliamentary committee through the National Assembly speaker for the formation of an independent election commission. An independent election commission was one of the 10 demands of the PML-N.
Although the election commission will be formed after a process undertaken by the parliamentary committee, the notification of the committee appears to be a step forward. Of 12 members of the committee, eight (four each from the treasury and opposition) are from the National Assembly and four (two each from the treasury and opposition) are from the Senate. The NA treasury members are Khursheed Shah (PPP), Farooq Sattar (MQM), Arif Aziz Sheikh (PPP) and Munir Orakzai (FATA).
The NA opposition members are Khwaja Asif (PML-N), Tehmina Daultana (PML-N), Abdul Qadir Baloch (PML-N) and Amir Muqam (PML-Q). The Senate treasury members are Islamuddin Shaikh (PPP) and Haji Adeel (ANP), while the Senate’s opposition members are Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri (JUI-F) and Haroon Akhter Khan (PML-Q).
