Pakistani Parliament to meet in first session since virus surge

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly of Pakistan will meet on May 11 to discuss the coronavirus situation in the country after parliamentary leaders belonging to various political factions reached a consensus on necessary safety measures and rules of procedure, announced Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday.
The speaker of the assembly, Asad Qaiser, recently formed a committee to look into the possibility of holding an online session amid the growing number of COVID-19 infections in Pakistan.
However, most of the opposition parties said they were against the idea of holding a virtual meeting, wondering why could the legislature not convene a session when the other two organs of state – the executive and judiciary – were continuing their duties amid the pandemic.
Talking to Arab News earlier, the country’s former prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said that he was against the idea since the dynamics of debate in a virtual environment would “be controlled by a technician.”
He also thought that the government would use the online session as a precedent to pass the national budget virtually.
A senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader, Nafisa Shah, also told Arab News previously that the rules did not allow a virtual sitting of parliament, adding that any amendment to these procedures would require the National Assembly to hold an offline meeting.
Most opposition members, however, criticized the government for the health care crisis triggered by the pandemic and insisted that the assembly needed to hold its session to discuss the government’s performance.
Qureshi also pointed out on Tuesday that COVID-19 would be the only discussion item on the agenda to allow legislators to share their suggestions and recommendations regarding the disease and to build national consensus on the issue.
He also added that they would try to reach an agreement on the modalities of budget sessions during the National Assembly sittings.