Electoral reforms: PPP finalizes names for parliamentary committee

ISLAMABAD:  Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has sent four names to Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for a parliamentary committee on electoral reforms, one of the key agendas of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, ARY NEWS reported.

According to sources privy to the matter, other political parties are also in the process to nominate names for the parliamentary committee. “The PPP has sent names of Yusuf Raza Gilani, Taj Haider, Naveed Qamar and Khursheed Junejo,” they said.

Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has written letters to all parliamentary leaders in National Assembly asking them to forward names from their respective parties for the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms.

According to a statement issued by the NA Secretariat, Speaker Raja Pervaiz has asked the parliamentary leaders to forward their nominations within seven days.

“The speaker in his missive wrote that National Assembly in its sitting held on April 16, 2022 a motion under Rule 244(B) of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007 was adopted to constitute a Parliamentary Committee to evaluate shortcomings of previous elections and to make recommendations for electoral reforms to ensure that elections are held in a free, fair and transparent manner,” the statement read.

The letters have been forwarded to PTI Chairman Imran khan, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, MMA’s Asad Mehmood, Khawaja Muhammad Asif of PML-N, BNP-M’s Akthar Mengal, Amir Hoti of ANP, PPPP’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Ghaus Bux Khan Maher of GDA, JWP’s Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti, Sheikh Rashid of AML, PML-Q’s Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema and Khalid Magsi of BAP.