CCI huddle postponed again as tensions spike

The 52nd meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) was once again postponed on Friday after the agenda of the meeting could not be finalised, amid growing political and constitutional tensions on the political chessboard.

Sources in the ruling coalition revealed that the tense political atmosphere and differences among the political forces ruling different provinces have led to the postponement of the CCI’s scheduled meeting on July 22.

“The 52nd meeting of the CCI which was scheduled to be held on Monday, 22nd July, 2024, has been Postponed,” the CCI notification read, adding “New date and time of the meeting will be communicated later on.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had summoned the meeting of CCI – a constitutional forum to discuss and decide matters between the federation and provinces – which was to be attended by the chief ministers of all the four provinces and some other CCI members to take stock of the current political, economic, legal and security situation.

The July 19-postponement notification has come on the heels of the previously scheduled meeting on July 10, sources said, adding that the CCI meeting has been delayed twice this month due to the non-finalization of the agenda.

Though Article 154(3) provides that the Council shall have a permanent Secretariat and shall meet at least once in ninety days, the CCI hasn’t met since January this year. The 51st meeting was held on January 29, 2024. It was chaired be the then interim PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar.

The ruling parties are fully aware of the current situation and are taking time to hold CCI meeting so that key issues are a part of the agenda, a source said.

In its meeting in August 2023, the CCI’s decision to approve the results of the 2023 digital census had made it certain that general elections would not take place in 2023 as a fresh delimitation, which takes several months, had become compulsory.

At that time, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and all ruling allies had agreed to dissolve assemblies on Aug 9, 2023, just three days before the expiry of the government’s term, after which the Constitution required holding an election in the next 90 days. However, the CCI decision had led to further delay and elections were finally held on February 8, 2024.

According to the notification issued on March 25, President Asif Ali Zardari while exercising the powers conferred under Article 153 of the Constitution, “the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, has constituted the Council of Common Interests, with effect from 21st March 2024”.

As per the notification, the Prime Minister is the chairman while the chief ministers of Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are its members. Apart from the PM and four provincial chiefs, Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Minister for States & Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Engr. Amir Muqamisre a members of CCI.

The previous notification issued on January 9 this year shows that the interim finance minister was a member of CCI. However, the new notification doesn’t include the incumbent financial czar in CCI, indicating that the tussle has deepened in the House of Sharifs as well as in the power corridors when it comes to the composition of new committees.

Article 154(1) of the Constitution states that “The Council shall formulate and regulate concerning matters in Part II of the Federal Legislative List and shall exercise supervision and control over related institutions.”

Article 155 of the Constitution extends the purview of CCI on the resolution of a dispute between the federation and the federating units or area’s governments regarding their rights to water from any natural source and authorizes the federal or provincial government concerned to make a complaint to CCI.