Parliamentary body examining ECP proposals on poll law appoints Naveed as convener
ISLAMABAD – The parliamentary committee constituted to examine the proposed amendments to the Elections Act 2017 by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday unanimously elected Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar as its convener.
The maiden meeting of the committee was held at the Parliament House to elect its convener. PPP Senator Taj Haider proposed the name of federal minister and PPP member of National Assembly (MNA) Naveed Qamar as convener, which was unanimously seconded by MQM lawmaker Engr. Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani.
On April 12, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani while using his “residuary powers” had constituted an eight-member parliamentary committee to examine the amendments proposed by the Election Commission to election laws.
The move from the Senate chairman came after Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja had written a letter to him saying that the parliament should make legislation to do away with the president’s role in determining the date for general elections. The CEC also sent a similar letter to National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf.
The committee has four members each from the Senate and the National Assembly. The committee comprises of opposition PTI Senator Ali Zafar, JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza, PPP Senator Taj Haider, independent Senator Dilawar Khan, PTI dissident MNA Dr Afzal Dhandla, PML-N MNA Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha and MQM MNA Sabir Kaim Khani and Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar The members present at the meeting acknowledged the significance of the committee and professed their support to accomplish the assigned task in due time. Legal expert and PTI legislator Senator Ali Zafar did not attend the meeting besides two other members.
In his acceptance speech, Qamar apprised the members about the reason for formation of the parliamentary committee and the CEC letter proposing amendments to Sections 57(1) and 58 of the Elections Act 2017 to do away with the president’s role in determining the date for the general election.
During the meeting, the proposed amendments to Sections 57(1) and 58 of the Elections Act 2017 were reviewed. The convener of the committee stressed that all members should thoroughly review the proposed amendments to ensure that nothing contradicts the Constitution. The committee decided to hold the next meeting on April 19 to further deliberate upon the matter. The meeting was attended by Senators Taj Haider, Kamran Murtaza, and MPs Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha, Engr. Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani besides Secretary Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and a representative from the Ministry of Law.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Muhammad Jawad Sohrab Malik had a meeting with Ambassador of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki to discuss enhancing bilateral collaboration between the two countries.
Article source: https://www.nation.com.pk/15-Apr-2023/parliamentary-body-examining-ecp-proposals-on-poll-law-appoints-naveed-as-convener