Govt, opposition leaders to meet after restoration of high-level contacts

ISLAMABAD: The government and opposition sides have restored the high-level contacts, whereas, an important meeting will be held by the leaders at the Speaker’s Office today, citing sources, ARY News reported on Friday.

The central leaders of the government and opposition sides will hold a formal meeting today, sources told ARY News. The meeting will be held today at the Speaker’s Office.

Following the request of the opposition, the committee constituted to finalise the appointments of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members has been changed.

Yesterday, four more members of the opposition had been included in the committee for ECP appointments. The committee members included Taj Haider of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Azam Nazir Tarar of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N).

READ: GOVT POSTPONES JOINT SITTING OF PARLIAMENT

The Senate Secretariat had issued a notification regarding the inclusion of new members to the committee.

Earlier in the day, it emerged that the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser has written a letter to Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif in which he stated that the opposition and the government will have to prioritise the national interests.

Asad Qaiser has asked Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif to play role in legislation after building consensus on important reforms. He said that both sides should step forward for building consensus on important reforms pertaining to the common interests.

In his letter, Qaiser urged to restart consultation on different bills including Election Amendment Bill 2021 by using the concerned forum of the committee on legislation.

READ: BABAR AWAN LAMENTS OPPOSITION’S NON-COOPERATION OVER LEGISLATION

He asked Shahbaz Sharif to play the role in building consensus on the bills and amendments. Qaiser added that different bills have sailed through the National Assembly but they failed to be passed by the Senate.

The NA speaker said that the said bills will come into consideration in the joint session of the parliament.

Asad Qaiser reminded that a committee had been constituted for achieving consensus on the bills and recommended amendments but the consultative process remained incomplete.