ISLAMABAD: The Senate has decided to approach the government to ensure the attendance of ministers and senior bureaucrats in the meetings of house standing committees to make the oversight function of the Upper House more effective.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani and Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq will communicate with the federal government in writing in this regard.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Council of Chairmen here on Monday, according to an official handout issued by the Senate Secretariat.

Mr Rabbani, who presided over the meeting, asked the chairmen of the standing committees that only doable agenda of the committees’ meetings should be formulated with a focus on issues referred to committees, so as to meet the deadlines and avoid unnecessary seeking of extension in time.

Mr Rabbani said that the main focus of Senate committees should be on timely execution of the parliamentary business assigned to them and take up the other issues afterward, so that there was a minimum leftover agenda. He said there was an increasing trend to seeking extension in time by different standing committees which should be discouraged.

Mr Rabbani directed the Senate Secretariat to provide all possible assistance and expertise to committees for smooth execution of official business and apprised the meeting that Senate was working on a plan to build more committee rooms for better facilitation and avoid duplication of the meetings of different committees.

Published in Dawn January 17th, 2017