The government on Wednesday formed a 29-member parliamentary committee to give recommendations on current situation in Balochistan and to promote inter-provincial harmony.
The committee will also suggest measures to protect the rights of the provinces with a view to strengthen federation.
Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will be the chairman of the committee, comprising 19 and 10 members from both upper and lower houses of the Parliament, respectively.
The committee will present its report within 90 days. A number of Baloch nationalist leaders, who gave the government a hard time in both the houses on Balochistan issue, have been nominated as members of the committee.
The committee would hold its first meeting on October 5 in the Parliament House. The decision of holding subsequent meetings would be at the discretion of the chairman.
Two federal ministers from Balochistan Sardar Yar Muhammad Khan Rind and Zobaida Jalal are the members of the committee. While federal Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghouri and Minister of State for Petroleum Mir Muhammad Nasir Khan Mengal have also been nominated as members.
Leader of the House in Senate Wasim Sajjad and Senate Deputy Chairman Khalilur Rehman will also be the members of the committee.
Other members of the committee from Senate included Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, Sanaullah Baloch, Amanullah Kamran, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Asfandyar Wali, Ayaz Khan Mandokhel, Muhammad Sarwar Khan Kakar, Raza Muhammad Raza, Mouhim Khan Baloch, Wali Muhammad Badini, Muhammad Aslam Buledi, Dr Muhammad Ali Brohi, Kalsoom Perveen and Pari Gul Agha.
While from the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, Alsyed Abdul Qadir Jamaluddin Al-Gillani, Ghulam Haider Samejo, Makhdoom Muhammad Amin Faheem, Dr Noor Jehan Panezai and Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan Nasir have been nominated as the members of the committee.
The committee would be empowered to invite any person to help in its deliberations.
According to a notification issued from the Senate Secretariat here, the committee was formed in lieu of the Senate and National Assembly resolutions in this regard on September 23 and September 24, respectively.
The notification said that Senate Chairman Muhammedmian Soomro had constituted the committee in consultation with National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain and parliamentary leaders of all the opposition parties.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, during the days of his tenure as prime minister on August 24, proposed the formation of a Senate committee to look into the Balochistan issue after the government had to face a hard hitting criticism by opposition members on the issue.
The House then adopted a unanimous resolution to give way for the formation of committee.
But the Senate, a month later on September 23, adopted another resolution to transform the status of the proposed committee into a joint parliamentary committee of both the houses.
On the very next day on September 24, the National Assembly also passed a similar resolution.
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