Senate chairman writes to govt, PTI seeking nominations for ‘political dialogue’

Hours before the Supreme Court (SC) is yet again to take up the polls delay case, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani on Thursday wrote letters to Leader of the House Ishaq Dar and Opposition’s Shahzad Wasim seeking names of members for a “special committee” on “holding political dialogue”.

The development comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that “arbitration is not the SC’s job” and the parliament will have the final say regarding the initiation of talks with the PTI.

Subsequently, two senior ministers contacted the Senate chairman and urged him to play his role in bridging the divide.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique met Sanjrani a day earlier and asked him to form a committee comprising five senators each from the government and opposition sides, government sources told Dawn.

In identical letters addressed to Dar and Shahzad today, copies of which are available with Dawn.com, the Senate chairman said that he was approached by the government and allies to “facilitate the initiation of political dialogue to address the ongoing political and economic crisis including the holding of general elections”.

“In this context, the constitution of a committee comprising members of the Senate belonging to both sides of the aisles has been proposed,” he said.

Sanjarani noted that the Senate was bestowed with the responsibility of “protecting the national and political harmony vis-a-vis the national and public interest”.

Therefore, he continued, a 10-member committee was being formed for holding political dialogue under the joint convenership of Dar and Shahzad. It will comprise four members each from the treasury and opposition benches.

“My office and the Senate Secretariat will remain available to assist/facilitate the committee in the performance of its functions for preserving the political system and for the betterment of the state,” the Senate chairman said.

He further directed both the opposition and government to nominate the names of their members within two days.

Elections impasse

The letters come against the backdrop of an impasse regarding elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab — where the provincial assemblies were dissolved earlier this year. While the PTI has been adamant about holding polls in the provincial legislatures, the government maintains its stance on holding polls across the country on the same day.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court (SC) — while hearing a PTI petition — had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14. However, the government had rejected the apex court’s orders.

After repeated back and forth last week, the SC on Thursday afforded a temporary respite to the country’s main political parties, giving them time till April 26 to develop a consensus on the date for elections to the provincial and national assemblies, so they could be held simultaneously across the country.

However, on Wednesday, PM Shehbaz reiterated that simultaneous elections will take place in Octo­ber or November after the current National Asse­mbly completed its term on Aug 13, whereas parliament will have the final say regarding the initiation of talks with the opposition.

The government wanted to talk to the PTI, he said, adding that there was an overwhelming opinion that the doors of dialogue should not be closed, but its format was yet to be decided. “The decision [regarding talks] has to be taken by parliament, not you or me,” he added.



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/ezEWvOH

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saudi Arabia, Iraq stonewall COP28 efforts on fossil fuel phase-out

DUBAI: With less than 48 hours left before the UN climate summit officially comes to an end, oil producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq resisted moves to agree to a phase-out of fossil fuels, a key demand at the COP28. Over 80 countries, including the US, European Union and members of Pacific Island states threatened by rising seas have been some of the most vocal in calling for a phase-out of oil, gas and coal. COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber urged negotiators on Sunday to work harder to find consensus, inviting ministers to give their views at a majlis-style consultation. He said he was asking all countries to suggest wording for a consensus on fossil fuels, adding: “Now, the time has come for all parties to constructively engage… Failure is not an option”. The main obstacle to an agreement has been the entrenched stance of OPEC members, led by Saudi Arabia, who argue that the focus of the COP28 should be on reducing emissions, not on targeting the fuel sources that cause them.
Read more

Israel, Hamas agree to truce, 50 hostages to be released

Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce that would see the Palestinian group release dozens of hostages taken on October 7 , both sides announced Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved the accord after a near-all-night meeting, in which he told reticent ministers this was a “difficult decision but it’s a right decision.” A government spokesman told AFP that under the agreement at least 50 Israeli and foreign hostages would be released — women and children — in return for a four-day “lull” in military operations. For every 10 additional hostages released, there would be an extra day of truce. Hamas released a statement welcoming the “humanitarian truce”, which it said would also see 150 Palestinians released from Israeli jails. The truce offers Gaza residents the prospect of a desperately desired, if brief, pause after nearly seven weeks of total war. Sources had earlier told AFP the truce would include a complete ceasefire on the ground a
Read more

Families of those facing military courts call for their fair trial

LAHORE: The families of PTI activists facing military court proceedings in cases regarding the May 9 violence demanded a fair trial for their dear ones. Over a dozen family me­­mbers of PTI activists who are currently facing trial before military cou­rts, and their lawyers Rab­biya Bajwa and Abuzar Salman Niazi, addressed a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Sunday. Ms Bajwa said that there was a criminal silence over the violation of the basic human rights in Pakistan, adding that they would launch a campaign to wake the people to stand against the violation of human rights and Constitution of Pakistan. She claimed that the fa­­m­­ily members of those fa­­cing trials in military cou­rts were not allowed to meet the incarcerated persons. Despite the passage of one month, the Supreme Court has also not constituted a bench to hear petitions regarding civilian trials in military courts. She said the government had submitted a report to the court, saying that 20 citizens w
Read more