New provinces commission: Govt signals readiness to placate opposition

PML-N rejects commission; new bill seeking funds for political parties introduced.

ISLAMABAD:

The government hinted on Tuesday that it was willing to address the opposition’s grievances over the makeup of a commission formed by the National Assembly speaker to carve out new provinces.

However, it insisted that due process was followed while forming the national commission which was rejected by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

“We are open to discussion and would consider new names, if [PML-N] deems them necessary for inclusion,” Law Minister Farooq H Naek told lawmakers in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday.

Naek reiterated the government’s willingness to engage in negotiations and urged the opposition to not politicise the issue.

He added that the opposition leader in Senate had nominated members of his party for the commission.

Khawaja Saad Rafiq from the PML-N highlighted his party’s concerns over the commission, saying the government should have consulted all stakeholders instead of just a formal and ceremonial correspondence.

“A national commission should be constituted to devise a formula for carving out new provinces wherever the demand for it is,” he said.

While describing his party’s proposed commission, he said it would be headed by a non-partisan figure, a technocrat or a retired judge of the Supreme Court and would consider demands from all regions.

He further said that intervention of President Asif Ali Zardari in the matter was unconstitutional, adding that the prime minister should have taken the initiative, instead.

Rafiq claimed that the Pakistan Peoples Party was aware that the PML-N would not accept the commission but still went ahead with it to gain political mileage and claim that the PML-N was not interested in a Seraiki province.

He warned that the “creation of new provinces on a linguistic basis would open a Pandora’s box”.

New bill introduced

Meanwhile, PML-Q’s Riaz Fatyana introduced a bill to amend the Political Parties Order, 2002 (chief executive’s order no 18 of 2002) seeking provision of public funds for political parties.

The amendment proposed insertion of a new section 6-A: “The federal government shall provide funding to political parties according to their representation in the Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament), auditable by the AGPR and shall be placed before the PAC. The political parties shall appoint external auditor for transparency.”

In addition, the bill suggested an amendment to section 12 for holding intra-party elections by a secret ballot.

“This would enable political parties to find candidates from the middle class to contest elections and help flourish democracy,” Fatyana said, while explaining the object of the amendment.

Lower house proceedings

Tuesday’s proceedings started an hour and 45 minutes late and members, once again, promised to observe the time when Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi noted that their tardiness “gives the wrong message”.

During the proceedings, the MQM and the PML-N once again entered into a spat, with the former asking the latter to resign from the assemblies and only then would it think about walking away from the PPP-led government.

MQM’s Sajid Ahmed said the law and order situation in Karachi began deteriorating in 1992 during the PML-N’s tenure and never recovered since.

In response, PML-N’s Khurram Dastgir said all those parties (PPP, MQM and ANP) who were in power in Sindh should take responsibility, in this regard.

Meanwhile, PPP’s Nafisa Shah said implication of Rimsha Masih has proved that blasphemy laws were being misused.

In order to achieve harmony in the country “… religious leaders/parties should come forward to devise a modus operandi for curbing its misuse,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2012.