Joint Parliamentary session: Govt to attempt passage of electoral reforms bill on Monday

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi will address the joint sitting of parliament on Monday (September 13) as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Friday announced boycotting the Parliament session.

The government is all set to get the election reforms bill passed by the joint sitting of Parliament. The president on Friday summoned the joint session of Parliament at 11am on September 13. The address of the president to Parliament would mark the start of the fourth parliamentary year of the sitting National Assembly. The decision to boycott the joint sitting of Parliament was taken at a meeting of the PDM Steering Committee attended by PMLN's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, JUIF's Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Owais Noorani, Akram Khan Durrani, Hafiz Hamdullah, Qaumi Watan Party Chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai.

Other opposition parties including the PPP and ANP have also announced a sit-in in front of Parliament House along with lawyers and members of the civil society. They would spend the Sunday night at the sit-in.

Hafiz Hamdullah, while talking to the media, said the opposition parties stand with media organisations and will continue to stand by them. He said the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) has already been rejected by the PDM, considering it an attempt to control the media. “Babar Awan and Azam Swati have insulted the Election Commission of Pakistan and Parliament,” Hamdullah said.

The meeting decided that onSeptember 26, a PDM convention will be held in Islamabad, he said, adding that lawyers, journalists and labourers will be invited to the convention.

Speaking of other decisions taken during the meeting, he said the government's "unilateral" electoral reforms have been rejected, observing that unilateral reforms are another attempt to steal the election. The JUIF leader noted that in Parliament, Swati had remarked that the ECP must be "set on fire" and that federal ministers "sought to take the state institutions hostage".

Hamdullah said the PDM will hold rallies in Faisalabad and Dera Ismail Khan on October 16 and 31 respectively, on October 31 in Dera Ismail Khan while on October 14, the Mufti Mahmud Conference will be held.