Opposition wants panel on rigging activated

PPP leader Khursheed Shah accuses PTI govt of ‘not keeping its word’

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties in the National Assembly have started efforts to activate the parliamentary committee formed to investigate the allegations of rigging in the July 25, 2018 general elections.

“There have been no meetings of the parliamentary committee regarding the general elections,” said PPP leader Khursheed Shah while raising the issue in the lower house of parliament on Thursday.

On a point of objection, the MNA said, “The parliamentary committee was set up to investigate the allegations of rigging in the elections of 2018.

“My stance from the very beginning has been that we should not give an opportunity to anyone else to insult us. All the issues should be resolved in parliament, but perhaps some of us do not believe in the supremacy of parliament.”

He said the parliamentary committee was formed in October followed by a sub-committee for Terms of References (TORs), but the government and the opposition could not agree on the TORs.

“They agreed that the central committee will decide the TORs. Later, we were told that the meeting of the parliamentary committee will be called during the National Assembly session but no meeting was called,” he said.

Referring to PTI’s accusation of 35 punctures (wrongdoings) in the 2013 general elections, Khursheed said, “We say there are 60 punctures that need to be investigated.”

He said in the beginning, it was said that the decision of the parliamentary committee would be acceptable, but the government “is not keeping its word”.

“They should tell us when the meeting of the parliamentary committee will be held,” he demanded of the government.

In his response, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan acknowledged the fact that there should have been some progress over the committee issue.

“There had been some issues between the government and the opposition about the Public Accounts Committee,” said the minister. “Now, as the issues of the standing committees have been solved, this committee will start working.”

He assured the opposition members that the government would take appropriate measures regarding the working of the committee. “Wherever the issues of rigging are, they should be resolved,” he said.

PPP leader and former premier Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said, “The minister has deviated the discussion towards standing committees whereas the main issue is that the parliamentary committee has already been formed while the TORs have not yet been finalised.”

The former PM said if the government thought that the people would forget the issue because it was put on the back burner, “it is unfair with the people as well as with the speaker”.

In his response, minister for parliamentary affairs again assured the opposition members that progress would be made in this respect.

He urged the opposition members to work jointly as they were also a part of the government.