Speaker Sadiq urges consensus on CEC first

As the treatment of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan dominated proceedings of the National Assembly on Friday, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq urged the government and opposition to sit together first on the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC), whose term is due to expire.

He said that consensus on the matter could help the country move towards political stability and harmony.

"Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has recently invited the opposition for dialogue, a move welcomed by the opposition, so I think the time has come for both sides to sit together on the appointment of the chief election commissioner as a first step towards the dialogue process," the speaker said while presiding over the NA session.

According to the Constitution, the consent of the leader of the opposition in the NA is mandatory for the names proposed by the government for the office of chief election commissioner.

The speaker said he had always tried to facilitate members of the opposition benches and had sometimes gone out of his way to accommodate them.