ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Opposition leaders have signalled they are willing to join a proposed parliamentary committee on electoral reforms after an outreach by the Pakistan Peoples Party, with a formal response expected within days.
A PPP delegation met opposition leaders on the instructions of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and invited them onto the committee, PPP vice president Senator Sherry Rehman said, proposing that the government and opposition jointly draw up recommendations for transparent, free and fair elections.
National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who heads the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan alliance, and Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas sought time to consult the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership, sources told Geo News. Raja Nasir backed the aim of a more transparent electoral process, and PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan demanded equal representation for the government and the opposition on the panel.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the National Assembly had already approved the committee and the speaker would soon notify it. It will have 30 members, 20 from the National Assembly and 10 from the Senate, with seats shared among parties according to their strength in each house.
According to sources, the committee is expected to review complaints about the 2024 general election, later by-elections and polls in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and recommend measures to prevent irregularities, with its proposals going to parliament for approval. Chaudhry said the government would give weight to “positive, constructive and workable” proposals from all parties.
