ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the federal government and opposition decided on Thursday to form a parliamentary committee to help monitor and support joint efforts to counter the threat of coronavirus outbreak.
The decision was taken during a meeting held between Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and National Assembly (NA) Speaker Dr Asad Qaisar here on Thursday.
The participants of the meeting discussed the situation arising out of the novel virus’ spread in the country as well as the government’s strategy to stop its spread and prevention.
It was agreed that coronavirus was a global problem and could only be fought collectively by putting aside political divides.
The prime minister said that public health was the government’s top priority therefore, emergency measures to prevent the spread of the virus must be taken without wasting any time.
SPEAKER REACHES OUT TO OPP:
Further, the NA speaker held consultations with Raja Pervez Ashraf of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Khurram Dastagir Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
“The NA speaker phoned Raja Pervez Ashraf and held a meeting with Khurram Dastagir Khan separately. Both opposition party leaders have expressed full confidence in the speaker’s leadership and have assured their full cooperation in this regard,” a source told Pakistan Today.
It was also revealed that the speaker was also in touch with other political parties including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Mutahidda Qoumi Movement (MQM), Baluchistan National Party (Mengal), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and others.
About the composition of the parliamentary committee, reports state that the joint overseeing committee would comprise of members from both houses of the parliament.
“One third of the members would be taken from the Senate while two thirds would be taken from the NA. The members would be nominated by the respective leaders of the house, leaders of the opposition from both houses beside the parliamentary leaders of respective parties. The members would be according to party strength in both houses,” the source said.
The source also said that the parliamentary committee would oversee the measures taken for fighting the virus by the federal and provincial governments in addition to the coordination between the federal and provincial departments and sharing suggestions to handle the challenges posed by the pandemic.
