- File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Both the government and opposition reported headway in their talks over the fate of a constitution amendment to protect the seats of 28 parliamentarians, but the bill to provide for it was deferred in the National Assembly for the fifth time on Wednesday for approval of possible changes to extend its scope by the leaders of two sides.

However, the house passed two other important government bills meant to improve the regulatory role of the State Bank of
Pakistan and to encourage financing for power projects.

Talking to reporters, PPP chief whip Khurshid Ahmed Shah described the outcome of the latest session of talks with the other side as an “important headway”, while opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan called it “some headway” in a television talk show later.

Both sides said they would consult their party leaderships about points apparently agreed between their negotiators before finalising an amended draft of the Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Bill, which could possibly provide for stronger guarantees for future general elections to be free and fair.

The original draft only aimed at validating post-Eighteenth Amendment by-elections to 28 seats of both houses of parliament and provincial assemblies whose occupiers were suspended by the Supreme Court on Monday because they were elected when the Election Commission was not complete.

But the Pakistan Muslim League-N wanted stronger guarantees about the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission and a caretaker set-up that must oversee a general election as conditions for its support to the bill, which needed to be passed by two-thirds majorities of the membership both in the 342-seat National Assembly and 100-seat Senate.

The government, according to sources close to the talks, had agreed to provide for five-year tenures for the four members of the Election Commission — as is the case for the Chief Election Commissioner — but the talks remained deadlocked for three days over the caretaker set-up, which must be appointed by the president in the centre and by provincial governors in the provinces in consultation with the prime minister — or a chief minister in the case of a province — and opposition leaders of the concerned houses whenever a general election is called.

There was no formal word from either side whether the government had agreed to the PML-N’s demand for a consensus on the caretaker set-up – which the other side says will be very difficult to achieve and could stall elections indefinitely.

Mr Shah told reporters after the latest meeting between the two delegations that the two sides would now consult their respective leaderships and “God-willing a final draft (of amendments) will be presented in parliament in a day or two”.

Mr Shah, who is also the religious affairs minister, declined to give details of agreed points without permission of “our leadership” and, on being pressed further, remarked: “It can happen that their leadership does not accept our proposals and our leadership does not accept their proposals.”

Chaudhry Nisar, when asked by a reporter in his chamber later whether the deadlock in the talks had ended, said: “You can say so.”

And while responding to questions in a TV talk show, he predicted a “decision tomorrow” of what he called “headway made
today”.

Inside the house, Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi, who presided over the proceedings, announced the deferment of the bill without giving reasons, for the fifth time since the start of the present session on Feb 1.

The State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, which came to the house for passage for the second time after some amendments made in the Senate, seeks – according to its statement of objects and reasons – to make the law “more conducive to the changing global economic and regulator environment” and “better enable the modern functions of the central bank”.The vote came after PPP veteran Zafar Ali Shah agreed not to press his amendments on assurances by Minister of State for Finance Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood and the deputy speaker that many drafting errors in the bill about which he complained, would be removed.

The other bill passed in the sitting – the Private Power and Infrastructure Board Bill – seeks to make the existing board a statutory institution through an act of parliament to inspire confidence in the body and encourage foreign financing for power projects.