ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Thursday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and discussed the matters related to the parliamentary affairs and legislation.

According to an official handout issued by the National Assembly Secretariat, the speaker apprised the prime minister about the regional dialogue being organised by the Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Peshawar on Friday (today) on the role of parliament in enhancing investment, trade and people to people exchanges under CPEC.

This regional dialogue is first of the series of regional dialogues which would be held in all four provincial capitals, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The speaker also discussed with the prime minister the setting up of economic zone at Rashkai under CPEC.

The meeting took place etween the prime minister an the speaker two days after the latter cancelled the parliamentary leaders’ meeting which he had convened on Nov 11 for “a briefing by military officials on the current issues of national security” after the opposition parties decided to stay away from it.

The opposition parties had announced boycott of all the meetings under the speaker due to his alleged bias conduct during the joint sitting of the parliament on September 16 at the time of the passage of the bills related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The opposition alleges that the speaker has failed to run the assembly according to rules and parliamentary traditions.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2020