ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Mian Raza Rabbani was unanimously elected as chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) as members of 14 more committees, elected chairmen on the third consecutive day here on Thursday.

Mr Rabbani, who is known as the main architect of the historic 18th Constitutional Amendment, that granted autonomy to the provinces, had previously served as the federal minister for IPC during the previous regime of PPP.

According to an official handout issued by the Senate Secretariat, Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has been elected as chairman of the standing committee on narcotics; Kauda Babar, an independent senator, affiliated with the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) as chairman of the standing committee on information technology and telecommunications; Seemee Ezdi of the PTI as the chairperson of the standing committee on climate change; Dilawar Khan (independent) as chairman of the standing committee on defence production; Irfanul Haq Siddiqui of the PML-N as chairman of the standing committee on federal education, professional training, national heritage and culture; Hidayatullah Khan as the chairman of the standing committee on housing and works; Prof Sajid Mir of the PML-N as chairman of the standing committee on Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan; Naseebullah Bazai (independent) as the chairman of the standing committee on poverty alleviation and social safety; PTI’s Hamayun Mohmand as chairman of the standing committee on national health services, regulations and coordination; Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of the JUI-F as the chairman of the committee on religious affairs and interfaith harmony; Shamim Afridi from the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) as the chairman of the standing committee on privatisation; Mohammad Qasim has been elected as the chairman of the standing committee on railways and Hilalur Rehman as chairman of the standing committee on states and frontier regions.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2021