Cabinet expansion, NA standing committees’ polls soon
* PPP faces difficulty in accommodating coalition partners in cabinet
By Tahir Niaz
ISLAMABAD: The capital city is set to witness hectic political activity after a brief lull, especially during the last days of Ramazan.
The cabinet reshuffle and expansion, and election of the chairpersons of around 40 remaining standing committees of the National Assembly are two major events around the corner.
The PPP-led government is reportedly facing difficulty in accommodating its coalition partners – the Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) – in the cabinet expansion.
It's learnt the government plans in-camera briefing for parliamentarians on the deteriorating law and order situation in the country.
The briefing will come in the wake of Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan's threat to requisition the House if the government continues to stay away from early convening of the parliament's joint sitting to make national policy on terrorism.
According to the tentative schedule, the NA is expected to meet on October 13 and the Senate on October 17.
The government also plans to kick start the process of electing chairpersons of some 40 standing committees of the National Assembly next week.
The chief whips of the PPP and the PML-N, Khursheed Shah and Sheikh Aftab Ahmed respectively, are to meet in a day or two to finalise the distribution of top positions of the standing committees.
The PPP, the PML-N and the other coalition partners including the ANP are at odds over the chairmanship of standing committees on Finance, Petroleum, Commerce, Defence and the Interior. The MQM's decision to join the ruling coalition at Centre has complicated things.
The sources said National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza would convene a meeting of the parliamentary leaders of the ruling and opposition parties to amicably resolve the issue. The meeting was earlier delayed until after Eid due to intra-coalition differences.
So far, the NA's standing committees on Foreign Affairs, Kashmir, Water and Power and Public Accounts Committee have elected their chairpersons.
The PML-N sources said the party would demand chairpersonship of at least 15 NA standing committees as was earlier agreed upon with the PPP. "It was decided between us (PML-N and PPP) at the time of formation of government at Centre that the PML-N will get 15 ministries and chairpersonship of same number of National Assembly standing committees," they said.
The maiden session of Parliament's Special Kashmir Committee is scheduled for October 7 and that of the PAC the next day. The NA standing committee on Foreign Affairs is expected to meet in the next few days, as its chairman Asfandyar Wali Khan had pledged before Eid.
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