Awami National Party (ANP) has constituted five-member committee to discuss the issue of renaming NWFP with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), source told Business Recorder on Saturday. According to the sources, the committee would discuss and try to take on board PML-N on the issue of renaming of NWFP. The meeting of both the parties in this regard will be held on January 5, 2010.
The PML-N has already constituted a five-member committee comprising Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, Sar Anjam Khan, Pir Sabir Shah, Nasir Khan with Sartaj Aziz Khan in the chair to negotiate with ANP on the same issue. When contacted ANP Senior Vice President, Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel, he confirmed that his party has constituted a five-member committee comprising Senator Afrasiab Khattak, Senator Zahid Khan, MNA Jamila Gilani and Abdul Latif Afridi to be headed by him.
He said that the meeting of both the committees would be held on January 5, 2010 in Islamabad. He said that the party has already suggested three names Pakhtoonkhwa, Afghania and Pakhtoonistan for the province. Answering to a question, he said that if the PML-N did not reach any consensus on the issue it would unnecessarily delay the constitutional package for undoing 17th amendment prepared by the Special Committee of the Parliament on Constitutional Reforms. Meanwhile, the Special Committee of the Parliament on Constitutional Reforms only completed 50 percent of its work and has discussed 177 articles of the constitution, reliable sources told Business Recorder.
According to the sources, some political parties want to amend the constitution to increase power of high courts and reduce the tenure of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) may support the move, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and other small parties would oppose this proposal.
The sources said that the committee was revisiting the articles of the constitution relating to provincial autonomy, renaming the NWFP, Islamic provisions and democratic values. The committee has already settled the issue of 17th amendment and Article-58 2 (b) of the constitution, they said.
The sources said that the committee would meet again on January 5, 2010 at Parliament House. They said that the committee would continue its day to day meetings to expedite the work on reforms package. When contacted Committee member Professor Khurshid Ahmed, who strongly condemned the statement of Federal Minister for Labour Khurshid Shah and said that he has no right to comment on committee's affairs. He said that only members of the committee could brief the media on the matters relating to it. He added that the committee has not finalised its recommendations yet.
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