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November 08, 2008
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Saturday
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Ziqa'ad 9, 1429
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Parliamentary body formed to monitor implementation: Joint session’s resolution on security
By Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza has constituted a parliamentary committee to monitor implementation of the resolution passed by the parliament during the in-camera joint session on security last month.
Leader of the House in Senate Raza Rabbani has been tipped as chairman of the committee to be formally announced on Saturday, sources told Dawn on Friday.
The sources said it had been decided in marathon meetings between representatives of political parties and the speaker that the head of the committee should be from PPP as a majority of the legislators believed it would be easy for the committee to get its decision implemented if the chairman would be from the ruling party.
The committee members, according to the sources, are: Raza Rabbani and Syed Khursheed Shah (Pakistan People’s Party); Sardar Mehtab Abbassi and Ishaq Dar (Pakistan Muslim League-N); Wasim Sajjad (Pakistan Muslim League-Q); Ghulam Ahmed Bilour (Awami National Party); Haider Abbas Rizvi (Mutahidda Qaumi Movement); Prof Khurshid Ahmad (Jamaat-i-Islami); and Aftab Sherpao (Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao).
Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi are likely to be included in the committee as ex-officio members.
The government has also been advised to take tribal leaders from Fata and the Afghan parliament on board.
The parliamentary committee on terrorism is being formed in the light of recommendations given in the parliament’s joint sitting which ended on Oct 22.
The resolution suggested three main points – that government should hold talks with militants, withdraw troops from tribal areas and review the foreign policy.
The sources said the committee would itself spell out its Terms of References (ToRs).
Most of the parties have agreed on a proposal that there should be equal representation from all parties in the committee.
However, leader of the opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had opposed the proposal, as according to him, would be unjustified if political parties having 50 to 60 members were treated at par with smaller parties.
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