Govt postpones joint sitting of Parliament

ISLAMABAD: The joint session of Parliament, summoned for Thursday to pass the electoral reforms and various other bills, has been postponed, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

In a series of tweets, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the government has decided to postpone joint sitting of Parliament in order to build consensus on electoral reforms.

“Electoral reforms is a matter of country’s future and the government is trying to reach a consensus on these issues,” he said, adding that NA Speaker Asad Qaiser has been tasked to contact opposition in order to bring a unanimous electoral reform bill.

پارلیمان کے مشترکہ اجلاس کو اس مقصد کیلئے موْ خر کیا جا رہا ہے۔ ہمیں امید ہے اپوزیشن ان اہم اصلاحات پر سنجیدگی سے غور کرے گی اور ہم پاکستان کے مستقبل کیلئے ایک مشترکہ لائحہ عمل اختیار کر پائیں گے، تاہم ایسا نہ ہونے کی صورت میں ہم اصلاحات سے پیچھے نہیں ہٹ سکتے

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 10, 2021

Taking to Twitter, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb claimed that the government had postponed joint sitting of Parliament after PTI allies raised reservations over the electoral reforms bill.

بھاگ گئے !فواد چوہدری صاحب ہمت کرکے سچ بولیں، نمبر پورے نہیں ہوئے، اتحادی تو کیا اپنے ارکان بھی ووٹ دینے کو تیار نہیں۔ڈوبتی کشتی سے چھلانگیں لگانے کا آپ کا وقت ہوا چاہتا ہے۔ اپوزیشن سے بات چیت اور اتفاق رائے پیدا کرنے کی بات آپ کو پارلیمنٹ کا مشترکہ اجلاس بلانے کے بعد یاد آئی ہے؟ https://t.co/9GSaCGFH6n

— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) November 10, 2021

Right before the announcement, Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the parliamentarians and reaffirmed the commitment to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the country.

The prime minister regretted that no effort was made in the past to make the electoral process free and transparent. He also urged the opposition to support the electoral reforms as it is a matter of national interest.

PTI allies withdraw support for EVMs

According to sources, the PTI government has reportedly failed to garner the support of allies over the electronic voting machine (EVM) bill.

The lobbying with the government bloc to seek support for the bills, to be tabled by PTI, have failed as Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Muslim League –Q have shared their reservations.

We were not consulted over the EVM and its terms of reference, the parliamentarians objected in a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Imran Khan for allies, according to the sources.

The development, said the insiders, has led to the postponement of the joint parliamentary session scheduled for tomorrow wherein various bills, including one of NAB Ordinance, were to be tabled.