ISLAMABAD: In a major move on Monday night, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar cancelled all the meetings of standing committees and sub-committees and directed that all meetings shall only be held during sessions of the National Assembly.
According to official announcement from the National Assembly Secretariat, the speaker gave these directions in view of the ongoing austerity drive adopted by the National Assembly.
However, presumably, the directive was issued by the speaker to avoid issuance of production orders for the under detention high-profile legislators including former president Asif Ali Zardari, whose production orders were issued by Chairman of Standing Committee on Industries and Production Sajid Turi.
Zardari attended the meeting of the standing committee on production order and later after the meeting also made a press talk at the cafeteria of the Parliament House. Just after the issuance ofthe speaker’s directive, all the meetings of the standing committees were cancelled and notification in this regard was issued.
Zardari and senior leader of the PML-N Khawaja Saad Rafique were members of the five standing committees each. On Tuesday, the meeting of the standing committees, including Industries and Production, were cancelled in which the former president was to be present.
According to sources, with the directions of Asad Qaisar, on-going rift between the government and opposition on producuiton orders will further increase. However, opposition sources said they could use the option of requisition of the standing committees and chairmen of committees will bound to convene the session within seven days of filing of the requisition.
Reacting on the directives of the speaker, the PPP legislator Shazia Marri termed it an effort to run the Parliament undemocratically. She said the standing committees were being assumed as a brain of the Parliament and these committees work throughout the year.
“The National Assembly has 130 working days and if the standing committees were not allowed to work then the Parliament will be dysfunctional,” she said.
Shazia Marri said the PPP knows the objectives behind this move as this directive is linked with the issuance of production orders.
“The speaker seems helpless before the undemocratic attitudes,” she said. She warned that the opposition will not sit silent on it and will resist such kind of undemocratic attitude. Opposition members are currently heading 13 committees of the National Assembly. Four meeting of the NA panels were fixed for Monday, while 20 more such meetings were fixed during the next few days, which have been cancelled. The participation of arrested opposition leaders was expected in that meetings of the NA panels.
According to the parliamentary calendar, the NA session will be called on July 26. Sources said the government wants to keep the arrested opposition leaders away from Parliament to foil their agenda of changing the Senate chairman.
