Parliamentary body to be set up: NA speaker

The National Assembly Speaker, Asad Qaiser, has said that the entire nation shall unite in the fight against coronavirus, adding "we have to evolve a strategy to face the economic challenges due to the pandemic". The NA speaker expressed these views in a meeting, while talking to Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani here on Saturday. They discussed the coronavirus pandemic and other important issues.
The NA speaker said that a parliamentary committee would be constituted as soon as possible, when the government and the opposition submitted their names for it. He said that the parliamentary committee would comprise members of the National Assembly and the Senate. Qaiser said that the purpose of setting up the parliamentary committee was to take steps to prevent the spread of virus. He said that the parliamentary committee should give its recommendations, and monitor the steps taken by the government to prevent spread of coronavirus. The NA speaker said that coronavirus was a pandemic.
The Senate chairperson lauded the decision to form a parliamentary committee, and appreciated the government's decision in that regard. He said that coronavirus cases were reported from all the different parts of the country and it was the need of the hour that political leaders from all the parties formulate a joint strategy to fight the pandemic. The senate chairperson stressed political leaders of different parties to set-aside their differences in this difficult hour.
The Senate chairperson welcomed the statement of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari about national solidarity, and said that it would be a crucial milestone in overcoming this global outbreak. He said that with the help of Almighty Allah the entire political leadership would be able to prevent the spread of the pandemic. The Senate chairman said that the Senate would send the names of the senators to the National Assembly Secretariat very soon. He said, "it is our social responsibility to take precautionary measures." Sanjrani said citizens, members of the parliament, and the employees should avoid unnecessary gatherings.
According to the sources, two-third of the members of the parliamentary committee would be from the National Assembly, while the rest will be from the Senate. The decision to form the committee was taken during a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and NA Speaker Qaiser on Thursday.
Earlier, in a bid to muster political support to counter looming challenges as the coronavirus epidemic spreads, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser has contacted PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the JUI-F leader Maulana Asad Mehmood, and PML-N leaders, Rana Tanvir Hussain, and Khawaja Muhammad Asif.