LAHORE: Following the Supreme Court’s order, the ruling coalition has proposed to form a 10-member parliamentary committee to negotiate for holding elections on a single date across the country, with equal representation from both sides.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formed a three-member committee to negotiate with the ruling coalition for the same-day polls.
The thaw in the tense political scene comes after the government proposed a parliamentary committee to discuss the terms of the talks because of a Supreme Court deadline for political parties to agree on an election date. .
Sources say that in this regard Federal Law Minister Nazir Tarar and Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq contacted Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani.
Sources further said that the government has proposed that the parliamentary committee should include five members each from the government and the opposition and that the committee should be accommodated in the parliament for negotiations.
Sources further said that Sanjrani will write a letter to the opposition and inform them about the government’s proposals.
Meanwhile, Chairman Senate also contacted PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Shahzad Wasim.
Sources said Sanjrani asked PTI leaders to suggest five names for inclusion in the parliamentary committee. He said that the former ruling party is expected to suggest the name soon.
Panel of PTI
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan constituted a three-member panel to hold talks with the government on the election issue and other related matters.
The panel includes PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Barrister Ali Zafar.
It should be noted that the Supreme Court has directed the political parties to negotiate to reach a consensus on the date of the elections in the country, the government has insisted on holding the elections on the same day.
The government is expected to apprise the Supreme Court of the progress made in implementing the orders at the hearing today on the petitions for holding simultaneous elections across the country.
On April 4, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial ordered the government to hold elections in Punjab on May 14.
However, after issuing its written judgment in the previous hearing, the court stated that its decision on the issue of delay in elections has already fixed May 14 as the date for the Punjab Assembly elections.
