NA committees' meetings to resume through video links

The National Assembly Speaker, Asad Qaiser, has resumed all committee meetings of the National Assembly through video links to continue legislative business of the House.

The speaker on March 14, 2020 had cancelled all committee meetings till further order as part of the measures taken by the government to fight coronavirus in the country.

In this regard, the National Assembly had issued a notification for cancellation of all meetings of the committees for an indefinite period as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Spokesman for the National Assembly Secretariat Mehboob Ali Gurmani told Business Recorder that the speaker National Assembly had decided to resume committee meetings because much legislative business was pending due to cancellation of the committee meetings.

He said that Asad Qaiser had directed for making special arrangements for holding of meetings of committees of the National Assembly through video conferencing.

According to a spokesperson of the National Assembly, the speaker has tasked the information technology (IT) section of the parliament to make necessary arrangements.

The section will make sure meetings of the standing committees from their respective Committee Rooms via video link.

He said online sessions of the standing committees would help continue the parliamentary system as well.

He said that this decision would facilitate the standing committees, the Public Accounts Committee, and the parliamentary and special committees to hold meetings through video links.

He said that the Information Technology Wing of the National Assembly Secretariat had been mandated to provide video conferencing facilities in committee rooms of the Parliament House.

The National Assembly spokesperson said that the meetings of the committees through video links would be held in Committee Room No 2, Committee Room No 7 and Constitutional Room (old name of Committee Room No 5).

According to the sources, President Dr Arif Alvi may summon the National Assembly session within one-and-a-half week for an essential legislation after special arrangements and introducing standard operating procedures (SOPs) by the National Assembly Secretariat.