June 23, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 07, 1428

ISLAMABAD, June 22: The ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) will hold a high-level inter-provincial conference in Islamabad on July 3 to evolve a consensus on the issue of provincial autonomy.

PML Secretary-General Mushahid Hussain Sayed announced the date while talking to a private television channel here on Friday.

A couple of weeks ago, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had hinted that a provincial autonomy package was being prepared by a parliamentary subcommittee headed by Wasim Sajjad.

Mushahid Hussain claimed that the government had already devolved powers from provinces to districts and said that deliberations were now under way to empower the provinces.

He reiterated his suggestion for convening an All Parties Conference under President Gen Pervez Musharraf. He said he had proposed a meeting on a one-point agenda to formulate a unanimous code of conduct for the upcoming elections, adding: “Instead of asking for help from outside, we should settle our disputes through mutual understanding”.

Recently, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had announced that it would push for a legislation and called for an immediate debate in parliament on the issue.

Mr Hussain recalled that the government had set up a parliamentary committee on Balochistan that was later split into two subcommittees, one headed by himself that had submitted its report while the second committee under Wasim Sajjad was about to submit its recommendations.

He said the inter-provincial coordination minister had also prepared a detailed report on the matter after interacting with all stakeholders, excluding the MQM that would come up with a framework of its own.

All suggestions would come under discussion in the proposed inter-provincial coordination meeting and the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, he said.

The recommendations of the conference would be handed over to Chaudhry Shujaat who would then present it to the parliamentary committee. After cabinet approval of an amendment bill, it would be tabled in parliament for debate and passage, he added.

He said that informal discussions were underway with the opposition parties on the issue and expressed the hope that the amendment bill would be passed by the present parliament.