Provincial members: NA speaker names panel to select ECP members

PML-N likely to dominate committee; hopes to garner MQM, ANP support

ISLAMABAD: With the help of its formal and informal allies, the ruling PML-N will continue to dominate in the parliamentary committee that is to finalise four provincial members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Tuesday re-notified the 12-member committee, which according to Article 213(2B) of the Constitution has equal representation from treasury and opposition benches, while one fourth of the members are taken from Senate.

According to the notification, the PML-N’s legal wizard Zahid Hamid has replaced Captain (retd) Safdar and Nawab Yusuf Talpur of PPP has replaced Ayaz Somroo in the 12-member committee.

Apart from Hamid and Talpur, the committee also includes six MNAs  – Shehryar Afridi (PTI), Junaid Anwaar Chaudhry (PML-N), Arshad Khan Laghari (PML-N), Shazia Marri (PPP), Dr Muhammad Farooq Sattar (MQM) and Dr Darshan (PML-N).

The four senators in the committee are Muhammad Daud Khan Achakzai (ANP), Mir Kabeer Ahmed Muhammad Shahi (NP), Islamuddin Shaikh (PPP) and Ayesha Raza Farooq (PML-N).

With this composition, the PML-N has the largest representation in the committee with five members of its own. The other member from the treasury benches in the committee is from the NP. In the given political situation, ruling party also expects that MQM and ANP will also adopt a soft stance towards it.

Formal talks between the government and the opposition are yet to kick off and the committee is likely to meet the next week.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2016.