Formulating suggestions: PML-N forms panel on new provinces

Sharif urges party’s parliamentarians to mobilise for ‘decisive’ anti-govt campaign.

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) set up on Monday a special committee to formulate suggestions on the demands of new provinces in the country, keeping national interest in view.

The move came just days after an announcement by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) that hinted at the creation of a new province during the month of Ramazan.

The decision to formulate a special committee was taken during the PML-N’s parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament House, chaired by PML-N president Nawaz Sharif.

Headed by Raja Zafarul Haq, the committee includes Javed Hashmi, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Mehtab Ahmad Khan, Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Mamnoon Hussain, Yaqoob Khan Nasir, Abdul Qadir Baloch, Salahuddin Tirmizi, Tehmina Daultana, Arshad Khan Leghari and Chaudhry Jaffer Iqbal.

The party condemned the recent rise in prices of petroleum products by the government.

Meanwhile, Nawaz urged his party’s parliamentarians to mobilise the people for a “decisive” anti-government campaign after the summer.

Addressing the media at the Parliament House after the meeting, the PML-N president alleged that the government was using the parliament to cover up its corruption. “The parliament belongs to the entire nation, not just the president and a few individuals,” he said.

Sharif alleged that state institutions were being pitted against each other for personal gains. “Rulers have not accepted the incumbent judiciary, but we will not allow anyone to use the parliament against it,” he said.

Earlier, the Central Parliamentary Party (CPP) expressed grave concern on the non-implementation by the government of unanimous joint resolutions passed by the parliament in 2008 and 2011 respectively, which it said was “against the sovereignty of the parliament”. It called upon the government to implement these consensus resolutions forthwith which express national intent and the will of the people of Pakistan.

The party also demanded that the government implement every single order of the superior courts in letter and spirit to uphold the rule of law in the country.

The CPP expressed alarm on the government’s misuse of the National Database and Registration Authority in the manipulation of electoral rolls and census results.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2011.