NA body members oppose virtual session of House

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Committee on virtual session of the House on Tuesday decided to invite parliamentary leaders to discuss mechanics of convening the session.

The Committee members unanimously opposed virtual session while emphasising regular sitting of the House after risk assessment. The virtual session of the committee was held under the chairmanship of Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister for National Food Security and Research in Parliament House.

The meeting was attended by Dr Fehmida Mirza, Minister for Inter-provincial coordination, Dr Zaheeruddin Babar, Adviser to PM on Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Muhammad Khan, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Syed Aminul Haq and Malik Aamir Dogar, Cheif Whip (PTI), Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Ms Shahida Akthar Ali whereas Syed Naveed Qamar joined the meeting through video conferencing.

The Committee held in-depth discussion on its ToRs. There was a consensus among the members of the committee to hold regular session of the National Assembly in current situation, however risk assessment and risk management had to be carried out before convening the session.

They all were of the view that the Parliament embodies the will of the people, thus in the present situation, keeping Parliament active and effective was vital.

The Committee also unanimously decided to invite all the parliamentary leaders in the National Assembly to discuss the mechanics for holding the session of the Assembly with them before submitting its recommendations to Speaker National Assembly.

The Committee on virtual session of the National Assembly during COVID-19 was constituted by the NA Speaker with the mandate to suggest amendments in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007, if any for holding virtual session of the National Assembly during prevalence of the corona virus pandemic. The Committee had also been asked to make any other recommendations it may deem necessary and submit its recommendations to the Speaker as early as possible.