Tag: National Assembly

  • National Assembly Secretariat declares PTI lawmakers as Sunni Ittehad Council members

    National Assembly Secretariat declares PTI lawmakers as Sunni Ittehad Council members

    The National Assembly Secretariat has issued a new list of party positions in the National Assembly (NA) and declared all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers as Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) members.

    According to the new list, seats in the coalition government of political parties is two hundred thirteen as Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), hold one hundred ten seats; Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has sixty-nine seats, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has twenty-two seats.

    Meanwhile, on the opposition benches, SIC has eighty seats, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) has eight seats, and PTI independent supporters have eight members.

    Secretariat officials did not mention twenty-three reserved seats and declared them disputed.

    Earlier, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had penned a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on September 19 stating that after the Elections Act Amendments, 2024, has been passed by the parliament, the Supreme Court’s reserved seats verdict of July 12 can no longer be implemented

  • Govt struggles to pass constitutional amendments as JUI-F resists

    Govt struggles to pass constitutional amendments as JUI-F resists

    The incumbent federal government has yet to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament to approve a controversial constitutional package.

    Despite the government’s claim of having the requisite magic number in the Senate, the government is struggling to pass the amendments. Chief Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, is resisting voting in favour of the government.

    The magic number to pass the constitutional package in the Senate (Upper House) is sixty-four, whereas the coalition government has confirmed fifty-nine votes.

    Ziauddin and Abdul Moiz Malik

    Meanwhile, JUI-F has five votes in the Senate.

    The government has not shared the constitutional package draft with any party, including Chief JUI-F Rehman, upon which he said, “It is a sensitive issue which should be discussed calmly.”

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Omer Ayub Khan said, “They (the government) have no draft with them, and they did not know what to discuss.”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf declared the constitutional package “a serious piece of legislation” and advised the government not to act hastily.

    The Senate meeting is expected at 12:30 PM today.

  • “Emotions, Complaints, Rebuttals: Lawmakers express outrage over arrests of PTI MNAs from prliament

    “Emotions, Complaints, Rebuttals: Lawmakers express outrage over arrests of PTI MNAs from prliament

    Discussion at the National Assembly (NA) turned heated following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers from the Parliament premises. At the same time, chairman PTI Barrister Gohar Khan announced a boycott of the NA proceeding.

    Commenting on the First Information Report (FIR) registered against PTI lawmakers based on a new Public Order Act, Barrister Gohar said that no other country has a law to register complaints against the delay of a rally.

    He cleared that complaints had been lodged against him for carrying a gun and pistols alongside him, raising the question of FIR authenticity.

    He stated that the rally was delayed amid road blockages, which prevented the Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Ali Amin Gandapur, from reaching the Sangjani area for the rally.

    Recording a party protest, Barrister stressed, “Except nine to ten PTI lawmakers, no other MNA would attend the NA proceedings until the September 10 inquiry.”

    Responding to Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto’s concerns about the PTI’s lawmaker resignation from Parliament, Gohar clarified: “Under no circumstance would the PTI resign from the parliament or any assembly, nor have we announced as such.”

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Atta Tarar has claimed that CCTV footage evidence shows no Member National Assembly (MNA) were arrested from parliament premises by federal capital police, which the opposition vehemently rejected.

    Responding to the MNA’s arrest from parliament premises, Bilawal said, “If the government functions only to plan who to arrest today, don’t be happy; we (all lawmakers) are next in the queue.”

    “Opposition shining his politics by the harsh language against journalists and judges,” he said.

    He said the PTI’s leadership can fight the case for Imran Khan but, in parliament, serve the people of Pakistan.

    “Constructively criticise the incumbent government instead of abusing,” he further advised.

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif remarked, “No MNA would have been apprehended if CM KP Gandapur hadn’t used controversial language.”

    “Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders have been imprisoned in the past to save democracy, but why is there so much drama on Khan’s arrest?” he concluded.

  • PTI MNA’s sexist outburst targets female K-Electric employee in National Assembly

    PTI MNA’s sexist outburst targets female K-Electric employee in National Assembly

    In a shocking development, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA, Iqbal Afridi, went on a sexist rant against a female employee of K-Electric during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Energy meeting of the National Assembly on Friday.

    “Mr Chairman, the K-Electric’s female employee’s dress code isn’t appropriate. There should be proper SOPs for dress code in National Assembly,” said the PTI MNA to Chairman Muhammad Idrees.

    Geo News reported that the agenda of the meeting revolved around K-Electric’s performance.

    As the meeting concluded and the team left, the PTI MNA considered it essential to discuss a woman’s attire in the meeting.

    The Chairman of the committee, Muhammad Idrees, apologised in front of journalists, remarking that a woman’s dress code shouldn’t have been discussed in the first place.

    Afridi, however, was undeterred and spoke with journalists, saying, “If this kind of people come into a civilized society, then what will our kids say? You saw the woman who was here; her clothes weren’t appropriate.”

  • PTI leadership contacts Fawad Chaudhry

    PTI leadership contacts Fawad Chaudhry

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) current leadership has contacted former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry to hold talks for his return to the party, ARY News reported on Wednesday, reportedly also asking him to stop criticizing them.

    PTI representatives stressed the need for unity among opposition parties in the current political scenario.

    As per ARY News, PTI leaders agreed to work together to achieve their goals, welcoming the positive suggestions presented by Fawad Chaudhry.

    Sources within the ARY News confirmed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and former Speaker of National Assembly Asad Qaiser are in contact with Fawad Chaudhry.

    However, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was denied any contact with the former information minister. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan will take the final decision to take Fawad Chaudhry back to the party or not.

  • Sher Afzal Marwat PTI main wapis aanay ko tiar

    Sher Afzal Marwat PTI main wapis aanay ko tiar

    Maverick member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sher Afzal Marwat told journalists in London that he can only rejoin the party at the request of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    He told reporters that he’s been out of the party since eight months and will only join again at Imran Khan’s request. Marwat also confirmed that he plans to meet Khan after Eid.

    The Member National Assembly (NA) also alleged that PTI misled young Pakistanis living abroad against the state’s security institutions.

    The PTI leader condemned the campaign against the country’s institutions.

  • How was the performance of 100 days of National Assembly? FAFEN reports details

    How was the performance of 100 days of National Assembly? FAFEN reports details

    The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has released a report on the National Assembly’s performance of the first 100 days.

    The report underlines that the legislative process was slow in the first 100 days of the National Assembly. The delay in the formation of standing committees also affected performance.

    In total, the House held 23 meetings covering 66 hours and 33 minutes, 159 (51 per cent) of the existing 310 members of the House actively participated in the meetings, the average attendance of members in the House was 231, the highest was 302 and the lowest was 176.

    The report stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended only two out of 23 sessions of the National Assembly, which is 10 percent, while in the past, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended 26 percent and Imran Khan 29 percent of the sessions.

  • Taxpayers have paid over Rs 927 million on Parliament’s renovation

    Taxpayers have paid over Rs 927 million on Parliament’s renovation

    The Interior Ministry on Thursday revealed that over Rs 927 million have been spent on the makeover of the National Parliament infrastructure over the past five years, ARY News reported.

    According to the report, the interior ministry said that Rs 108 million was spent on renovation in 2019-20.

    Over Rs 171 million in 2020-21, Rs 286 million in 2021-22, Rs 302 million in 2022-23, and Rs 60 million was spent on the renovation in 2023-24.

    The National Parliament is made up of the Senate (Upper House) and the National Assembly (Lower House).

    Last year, ex-Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani also constituted a parliamentary committee to rename the building to something that aligns with Pakistan’s cultural heritage.

  • Merry-go-round on PAC chairman continues as PTI replaces Sher Afzal Marwat with Waqas Akram

    Merry-go-round on PAC chairman continues as PTI replaces Sher Afzal Marwat with Waqas Akram

    The chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly has sparked a conflict between big figures in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), with the party’s political committee voting in favour of Sheikh Waqas Akram to replace the famous Sher Afzal Marwat.

    Party insiders told Dawn News that PTI’s political committee gathered in Islamabad on Friday to discuss replacing Marwat with member of the National Assembly (NA), Sheikh Waqas Akram.

    The party insider said that 19 members voted in favour of Sheikh Waqas, while seven people voted for Sher Afzal Marwat. Former speaker of NA, Asad Qaiser and Sher Afzal Marwat were not present in the meeting.

    “This is a conspiracy against me by the PTI establishment,” a bitter and angry sounding Sher Afzal Marwat said, confirming the report, when approached for comment over the phone.

  • PML-N claims win on most seats in by-polls

    PML-N claims win on most seats in by-polls

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers and supporters celebrated on Sunday as they won most of the seats in the April 21 by-elections as per the unofficial results so far.

    PML-N claimed that, according to unofficial results, the party has won two seats out of the five National Assembly seats, and 10 provincial assembly seats out of 16.

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid have won one seat each in the provincial assemblies. 

    Adnan Afzal Chattha from PML-N won the PP-36 Wazirabad seat against Fayyaz Chattha from PTI.