National Assembly.
PHOTO: APP/FILE
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was prorogued abruptly on Monday after major political parties backed out from the constitutional amendment bill on delimitating constituencies in accordance with the census 2017.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has called a meeting of heads of parliamentary parties today (Tuesday) at the Parliament House to cajole them into supporting the bill.
Last week, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) gave the government till November 10 to provide legal cover for the election authorities to go ahead with carrying out delimitations on the provisional result of the headcount.
The exiting constitutional provision stipulates that the ECP can conduct delimitations only after final results of the census are officially notified.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics will publish final figures in April next year while the ECP has to complete the polling scheme, including delimitations, at least four months ahead of the 2018 general elections, which are due in July-August.
Demarcation of constituencies: Govt to get bill passed through joint parliament session
Before the initiation of the session last week, the speaker had claimed that all political parties in parliament were on board over the proposed constitutional amendment. However, when Law Minister Zahid Hamid tabled the bill last Friday, the PPP and the MQM expressed reservations over it.
The PTI, the second largest opposition party, also asked the government to address the PPP and MQM reservations.
On Monday, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said that his party had reservations over the census as the population numbers in Sindh had been shown lesser than the actual ones. He was of the view that as per the actual population of the province, 10 to 12 seats should have been increased.
Shah said there was no harm in conducting 2018 elections on the basis of the 1998 census results. “There is a question mark over the latest census results, but the elections should be held on time, and we do not support early polls,” he added.
Speaker Sadiq, meanwhile, informed the house during the proceedings that he would hold another round of talks with the parliamentary leaders in Islamabad today (Tuesday) to reach consensus on the constitutional amendment bill for delimitation of constituencies.
PTI, PPP refuse to pass crucial bill
Sadiq also asked the law minister to sit with the PTI and the PPP to get their recommendations on the amendment.
Speaking on points of order, Qaumi Watan Party Chairman Aftab Sherpao questioned as to why the PPP-P was opposing the bill when consensus had been reached over it during the two meetings of parliamentary leaders. He said election should be held on time.
Leaders of the Awami National Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami called for passing the bill for delimitation of constituencies, calling it vital for ensuring timely elections.
Syed Naveed Qamar of the PPP-P said it was not a matter of the seats of smaller provinces getting increased, “nor is it a political issue”.
He also denied the “impression” that things had already settled in the Council of Common Interests. “We should move forward in accordance with the Constitution,” he said.
Draft for delimitation of constituencies finalised by house leadership
Dr Shireen Mazari of the PTI said reservations of the opposition members over the bill should be removed.
“This constitutional amendment has been moved by the government and it seems to be failing to secure the required numbers to get the bill passed. Failure to secure the numbers reflects a vote of no-confidence in the government,” she remarked.
Former prime minister and PML-N leader Zafaruallah Jamali said the population of 21 Balochi-speaking districts of Balochsitan had been shown lesser in the census. He asked the government to take the people into confidence before taking any action. He also criticised the ministers over their attendance in the house.
Provisional census results: Bill tabled in NA on reallocation of seats
JUI-F’s Akram Durrani asked the chair to adjourn the session for two days and call a meeting of the parliamentary leaders to develop a consensus over the matter.
The house also passed The Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad (Amendment Bill), 2017 despite strong opposition from the PPP-P members. The bill aims to separate PIMS from the university and make it an autonomous body.
On the calling-attention notice, the PPP-P inquired of the government about the stoppage of PIA flights to the US from January 2018.
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