No decision from PML-N over 18th Amendment, says Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: Former finance minister and PML-N leader Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that his party didn’t take any decision about the 18th Constitutional Amendment, ARY News reported.

Leader of the House in Senate Ishaq Dar denied reports about the 18th Constitutional Amendment and said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz didn’t take any decision with regard to the 18th Amendment and the party’s manifesto committee was not given any specific instruction in this respect.

Irfan Siddiqui is leading the manifesto committee of the party. “He and Marriyum Aurangzeb have issued statements in this regard,” Dar said.

Speaking at floor of the Senate Ishaq Dar said that amending the constitution is not an extraordinary matter, we used to introduce amendments in the constitution.

“Me, Raza Rabbani and others played an active role in 18th amendment as PML-N and the People’s Party had sign over the ‘Charter of Democracy’. “Our objective was the civil-military relations and judicial reforms,” Senator Ishaq Dar said.

“When the People’s Party taken the charge in 2008, a bicameral committee was constituted,” he said.

He said after signing the charter of democracy (CoD) we worked on many things; the matter of constitutional reforms was also part of the CoD.

Senator Dar said that the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award should be revised after each five years as per the constitution. “The NFC was reviewed in year 2009, the federal government was used to get five percent collective charge, which was slashed to one percent in 2009,” he said.

“I have participated in the 18th amendment as well as in the NFC,” he said. He highlighted the need of revisiting the earlier review of the NFC.

“Pakistan’s real challenges are human resource development, health, education, skill development, water and population,” Dar said.

“If provinces doing what they have been entrusted with, such as health sector. In Balochistan 3500 schools have been closed because teachers are not available,” he said.