Return to standing committees ‘for strengthening parliament’, Bilawal urges opposition

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday urged opposition parties to return to parliamentary standing committees, saying their active participation was essential for strengthening parliament.

He made these remarks while addressing a press conference after meeting Mahmood Khan Achakzai, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, opposition leader of the Senate, at the Parliament House.

Speaking to the media, Bilawal said PPP had always respected parliament and that he hoped opposition parties would reconsider their decision to boycott parliamentary committees.

“For parliament to be functional, standing committees must be functional,” he said, adding that the opposition’s role in parliamentary committees was critically important.

He said PPP had made contact with the opposition and wanted political parties to talk to each other. He called on opposition parties to play their role in electoral reforms through parliament, saying if they wanted improvement, they should come and work together on electoral reforms.

This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.