LAHORE, Oct 6: The Punjab Assembly on Monday initiated action for the formation of the standing committees, deciding to give each of the three major political parties -- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Q -- representation on various committees according to their numerical strength in the house.
The PML-N is believed to have reluctantly agreed to give the PML-Q representation on the committees under the pressure of the PPP, which has been urging its senior partner in the provincial coalition to also release development funds to the opposition legislators.
“We want the PML-N, which is the major partner in the coalition government in the province, to respect democratic values and traditions and give the opposition its legitimate share in the house committees as well as in development,” a provincial PPP minister told Dawn on condition of anonymity.
He said the recent talks held between the two-member PPP committee comprising Raja Riaz Ahmed and Tanvir Ashraf Kaira had been urging the PML-N leadership and chief minister Shahbaz Sharif to give “each political force having presence in the provincial assembly its due share” in line with democratic traditions.
According to the share worked out by the assembly secretariat, the PML-N has been asked to submit six names (or over 46 per cent representation) for each of the three 13-member committees – Public Accounts Committee-I, Public Accounts Committee-II and Privileges Committee, and five names (or 50 per cent representation) for each of the 10-member bodies.
The PPP will be entitled to propose four members each (or 32 per cent representation) for the 13-member and three (or 30 per cent representation) for the 10-member committees. The PML-Q will be allowed to name three members each (or 23 per cent representation) for the larger and two members (or 20 per cent representation) for the smaller committees.
The process for the formation of the standing committees has been initiated six months after the new assembly’s formation at a meeting presided by Speaker Rana Mohammad Iqbal Khan.
The meeting decided to give the three parties one week to submit the names of their members for inclusion in various committees.
The meeting could be attended only by PML-N leader and law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan because PPP parliamentary party leader and senior provincial minister Raja Riaz Ahmed was away to Islamabad and PML-Q leader and opposition leader in the assembly Chaudhry Zaheeruddin is out of the country.
A handout issued after the meeting said it was not proper to further delay the formation of the standing committees because almost six months have already passed since the constitution of the assembly.
It said the leaders of the three parties had already been advised to give names of their members for inclusion in the committees.