18th amendment commission not divided after Dar's resignation: Rabbani

Raza Rabbani praises Ishaq Dar for his work on the 18th and 19th amendments.

ISLAMABAD: Federal minister for Inter provincial Coordination, Raza Rabbani on Thursday said that the 18th amendment implementation commission had not been divided in the wake of Senator Ishaq Dar's resignation.

Speaking to the media after chairing a committee meeting, Rabbani said that he was on good terms with Ishaq Dar, and added that Dar had worked hard for the preparation of the 18th and 19th amendments. He refused to comment on Dar’s letter to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Rabbani also said that the third phase of the devolution of ministries will be completed by the end of April.

Dar stepped down on Wednesday as the deputy chairman of a commission tasked with implementing the 18th Amendment. The resignation by the parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) comes just a day after the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) decided to form a broad-based government with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) on board.

Dar is reported to have sent a four-page resignation letter to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in which he said that in view of “some recent developments”, there was no justification for his party to continue with its representation on the implementation commission.

In the letter, Dar goes through his reasons for resignation at length, which ostensibly include the devolution of the Higher Education Commission as well as a dispute over the transfer of government assets from the federal to the provincial level.