ISLAMABAD, May 31: Fata lawmaker Munir Khan Orakzai has been removed from the reconstituted 12-member Parliamentary Committee (PC) on appointment of chief election commissioner and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

According to a notification issued here on Tuesday, he was replaced by MNA Zahid Hamid of the PML-N.

Earlier, the Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League reached an understanding on removal from the panel of lawmakers belonging to the PML-Q because it has joined the PPP-led coalition government at the centre.

Mr Orakzai, who heads a group of lawmakers from Fata, expressed dismay over the omission of his name from the high-powered PC.

The committee will hold a crucial meeting on Wednesday to finalise the names of members for the ECP forwarded by the prime minister in consultation with the leader of opposition in the National Assembly.

Religious Affairs Minister and PC Chairman Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah held a meeting with PML-N chief whip Aftab Ahmad Sheikh at the Parliament House on Monday.

They agreed to replace two PML-Q lawmakers with that of PML-N.

Senator Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq and MNA Ghayasuddin Mela of the PML-N have replaced PML-Q Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan and MNA Amir Muqam in the bipartisan committee which comprises four senators and eight MNAs equally drawn from the treasury and opposition benches.

Other members of the committee are: Khurshid Ahmad Shah, Islamuddin Sheikh and Arif Aziz of the PPP, Khawaja Asif, Tehmina Daultana, Abdul Qadir Baloch and Zahid Hamid of the PML-N, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi of the JUI-F, Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM and Haji Adeel of the ANP. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had on May 7 sent the names of 12 retired judges of high courts to opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for seeking his consent before their appointments as members of the Election Commission.

But Chaudhry Nisar reportedly rejected the names on the grounds that a number of them were PCO judges.

If the committee members fail to reach a consensus, the names will be selected from two lists provided by the prime minister and the opposition leader.

Under the 18th Amendment, the prime minister, after consulting the opposition leader, is required to suggest the names for the CEC and members of the ECP to the Parliamentary Committee for final approval. Previously, the powers to appoint the CEC and ECP members rested with the president.