Most PA standing committees unformed, lying dormant

The standing committees of Punjab Assembly (PA) are lying dormant despite a lapse of two and a half parliamentary years.

Up to the present, chairpersons of only 20 out of 49 standing committees have been elected whereas 29 committees have not even been formulated. To the dismay of voters, several standing committees did not even hold a single meeting after the election. Parliamentary matters including legislation making are being dealt only through the 13 special committees of the house, as per official sources. Moreover, the high publicised accountability process within the government departments through the Public Accounts Committees has also stopped.

Currently, all three Public Accounts Committees of Punjab Assembly are inactive. Public Accounts Committee I could not be formed due to the rift between the treasury and opposition benches. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had refused to allow Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz to become the chairman of Public Accounts Committee I. Appalled by the move, the opposition had resigned from the standing committees.

The parliamentary leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had even suggested that once Hamza Shahbaz is appointed as the chairperson of the said committee, he would tender his resignation to the committee the very next day to continue his role as the leader of the opposition. The government did not entertain the proposal. Despite giving resignations, former Standing Committee chairpersons belonging to PML-N are still enjoy the perks and privileges of the position including vehicles. Interestingly, these members are also regularly pitching in the business of 13 Special Committees set up by the speaker.

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With regard to the second Public Accounts Committee, The Express Tribune has learnt that after the appointment of Syed Yawar Bukhari as a provincial minister, he was disallowed by the speaker to continue his role as the chairman of committee. The position thereby lies vacant. Almost a year ago, a third Public Accounts Committee was also approved to review the accounts of local bodies. This committee too has not been constituted. Later in November 2020, the PA unanimously amended the Rules of Procedure to give suo moto powers to the standing committees, but so far no standing committee chairman has exercised this power nor asked the speaker to convene a meeting of the committee in this regard.

To make matters worse, the constituted standing committees headed by the government members rarely meet and many committees do not even meet over business sent by the assembly for legislation, killing the purpose behind their creation. Under sub-section 6 of section 154 of the Rules of Procedure of the PA, if a committee does not take up the business within the stipulated time and the report is not submitted to the assembly, the assembly can legislate directly on it. Utilising this freewill within the system, 22 bills have been passed by PA so far. Faisal Buttar, a parliamentary affairs expert, explains that standing committees are mini-parliaments, wherein real and serious business is deliberated upon.

“The inactivity of the standing committees affects the people’s right to representation,” he added. Discussing the matter, PML-N MPA Malik Muhammad Waris said that the parliamentary system is incomplete until all the committees are formed and therefore the business of the assembly is being run improperly for the last two and a half years. Shifting the blame, Senior PTI MPA Mian Shafi said PML-N is responsible for the inactivity of the standing committees. He said that due to unresolved issue of Public Accounts Committee I, PML-N showed no interest in the formation of committees.