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ISLAMABAD: The government and opposition have reached consensus and decided to ensure smooth conduct of ongoing budget session in Parliament after confrontation for the past three days.
Following the agreement, the opposition has decided to withdraw its no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. A committee has also been formed on the opposition’s request by NA Speaker Asad Qaiser to review the passage of 21 bills last week.
“It is a welcoming development that the government and opposition have reached on an agreement, and from now onward, the parliamentary proceeding will be carried out as per routine,” Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain told media along with Minister for Defence Pervaiz Khattak at the Parliament House.
Fawad said parliamentary teams of government and the opposition held a detailed discussion over the unpleasant environment in the Parliament and admitted that it brought embarrassment for the House. He said the meeting was of the view that there should not be such an environment that could affect the functioning of the institutions.
The government’s team was led by Pervaiz Khattak, comprising Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, PTI Chief Whip Amir Dogar, and Fawad Chaudhry himself, while the opposition’s team consisted of PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah, Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Tanvir, and PPP’s Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Shazia Marri.
The information minister said the meeting also proposed to form a parliamentary committee, comprising members from both treasury and opposition benches that would be responsible for the conduct of their respective members in the House.
He said they also agreed that no individual would be targeted and insulted during budget speeches of parliamentarians from both treasury and opposition benches. Till formation of the committee, he said, the leadership of parliamentary parties would ensure practicing parliamentary norms by their respective members in the National Assembly.
Fawad said the committee would also look into the possibilities of increasing the powers of the Speaker National Assembly. He said the government team had requested the opposition to withdraw the no-confidence motion it submitted against Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri, expressing optimism that there would be a positive response.
Answering a question, he said Pervaiz Khattak had chaired a Parliamentary Committee meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the government allies, during which 186 members had shown complete confidence in Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
“We [PTI] want a good environment in the Parliament,” he said, adding the government believed in promoting supremacy of the Constitution and democratic norms in the country.
Replying to another question, Fawad said Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were being developed in the country to ensure transparency and fast compilation of election results.
