ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Sunday said that the leaders of all political parties will be consulted before passing the budget for the new fiscal year.
The assurance came in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic which has restricted the social interaction, therefore, making it virtually impossible for the House to meet and discuss the budget.
In a statement issued, the speaker said: “It is the responsibility of the Parliament to provide relief to the people and present the budget in a timely manner. The people and the Parliament must join hands to uplift the country during this crisis.”
He added that parliamentarians will have to fulfill their duties while practicing precautionary measures.
On Saturday, almost one month after his decision to cancel all meetings of the National Assembly committees amid the epidemic, Speaker Qaiser allowed holding of meetings of the committees through video link.
According to a spokesman for the National Assembly Secretariat, the speaker had directed the secretariat staff to make special arrangements for holding meetings of committees through video conferencing.
The decision by the speaker, he said, had come in order to revive the non-legislative business of the National Assembly. This decision would facilitate standing committees, Public Accounts Committee and special committees to hold meetings through video conferencing.
In this regard, the Information Technology Wing of the National Assembly Secretariat has been mandated to provide video conferencing facilities in the committee rooms of the Parliament House, he said, adding that the decision of holding meetings through the video conferencing had been taken in view of the threat of the spread of Covid-19 disease.
