Senators hailing from different political parties aired their reservations on the undue delay in establishing a permanent secretariat for Council of Common Interests during a joint meeting of the Senate Functional Committee on Devolution and Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination here.
Senator Taj Haider said that CCI is an important inter-provincial organisation and building a permanent secretariat for it calls for immediate attention. ‘We need to pass a law in this regard as a permanent secretariat is a constitutional compulsion and we’ve been shying away from it for too long,’ he said. Mr Haider also said that it would be better if the secretariat is headed by a chairman and the position rotates between all provinces. ‘The efficacy of CCI Secretariat will be greatly affected if we put it under some ministry. One man or one ministry shouldn’t be given that much power,’ he concluded.
Senator Muhammad Ali Saif said that Council of Common Interests should be overarching rather than being subjugated or subservient to any other entity.
Senator Syed Tahir Ali Mashhadi said that legislators are bound to follow the constitution and CCI should have its own secretariat and offices. ‘Council of Common Interests and Inter-Provincial Coordination should not be equal. An absolutely independent secretariat should be established. We can’t decide about it in a meeting, the procedure and formation has already been given in the constitution,’ he said.
Senator Sassui Paleju in her remarks said that the hierarchy prepared by Ministry of Law looks one-sided. ‘All provinces eventually come under a single secretary, we need to address this issue as it is necessary for the fate of CCI Secretariat,’ she said. Ms Paleju also pointed out that Principal Secretary Prime Minister Fawad Hasan Fawad in his correspondence back in July 2016 recommended that inter-provincial matters should be put under CCI.
It is pertinent to mention here that Article 153 of the Constitution of Pakistan provides for Council of Common Interests, comprising of the PM, who shall be the Chairman of the Council, the chief ministers of the provinces and three members to be nominated by Prime Minister from time to time.
The main functions of CCI are enumerated in Article 154 of the Constitution. They formulate and regulate policies in relation to matters in Part II of the Federal Legislative List which includes railways, electricity, regulatory authorities, national planning, census, legal and medical profession, inter-provincial matters, co-ordination and others subjects.
Before the conclusion of committee, Senator Mir Kabeer Ahmed shared the recommendations by committee members. Senators recommended that CCI Secretariat should be independent. It should not the put under any ministry. CCI should be represented by every province. It should be headed by a chairman, not a secretary. Chairmanship of CCI should be rotated between provinces. CCI should have separate sections to deal with separate issues. Inter-provincial coordination should be strengthened and have separate budget. And lastly, the parliament should pass an act in this regard.
Mr Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination, state that he’ll forward the recommendations to prime minister and will play his due role.
