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ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet today (Tuesday) has decided to hold Senate elections in February instead of March 2021 through a show of hands procedure rather than a secret ballot.
The decision was taken by the government during a meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Sources have informed that the move to hold elections early was proposed by Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.
Sources further informed that the government has decided to use open voting for the elections. Through the open voting process, everyone will know who voted for whom in the Senate elections.
The federal cabinet has decided to approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan in this regard, where it would file a reference under Article 186 of the Constitution of Pakistan for the changes.
Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan presented the suggestion before the cabinet meeting while Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan shed light on the constitutional and political aspects of the move.
However, Fawad Chaudhry opposed the move, saying that the government should instead consult the Opposition for any electoral reforms. “We are ready to talk to the Opposition on electoral reforms,” answered the prime minister.
Petrol Crisis
The Prime Minister also vowed that strict action would be taken against elements involved in the shortage of petroleum products. He also hinted at suspending licenses of oil companies involved in the petroleum crisis.
During the meeting, a report of the commission that was formed to investigate the petroleum crisis was presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan. He formed a three-member committee to review recommendations of the commissions’ report.
The committee includes Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood and Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari. The committee will prepare proposals about taking action against the responsible persons in light of an inquiry report.
Several federal ministers strongly reacted to the petrol crisis report and demanded immediate action against responsible persons. The report of the Inquiry Commission was made public on Monday following the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
It recommended strict action against the secretary Petroleum Division, DG Oil, Ogra and private oil marketing companies (OMCs). It also asked the government to dissolve Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for six months through act of Parliament.