Pak opposition slams Imran khan's govt for convening joint session without consensus on electoral reforms

Islamabad [Pakistan], November 17 : Pakistan opposition parties on Tuesday slammed Imran Khan-led Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for convening a joint session of parliament without holding talks to evolve consensus on electoral reforms.
Senators belonging to the joint opposition staged a walkout from the house as a mark of protest against Khan's government for buying time in the name of efforts to build consensus to win back the support of its estranged allies (PML-Q) of having plans to bulldoze all controversial bills in the special sitting of parliament, reported Dawn.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), a key ally of the PTI at the Centre and in Punjab and decided to break up and launch its own campaign for the next general elections after rising tensions between the two coalition partners earlier.
Raising the issue in the house, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Yousuf Raza Gilani said the convening of the joint session to bulldoze legislation at a time when the opposition had agreed for talks clearly manifested ill-will, reported Dawn.
"We expressed willingness to hold talks for the greater cause, democracy, the rule of law and Constitution and for the betterment of the country. But they are playing to the gallery...This is a mala fide intention [of the government] because they were short of required numbers to get all the bills passed," he said.
Gilani said the government only used the ploy of talks to gain more time to woo its allies who earlier had reservations over the bills, reported Dawn.
Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman said that the opposition wanted a consensus on the controversial bills to give a positive message to the public.
She said the opposition also formed a joint steering committee to hammer out a joint strategy and wanted to find a solution within parliament.
She rejected the impression an adviser to the prime minister tried to give, saying that the opposition held no secret dialogue with the government, reported Dawn.
"Why the committee was announced if the government wanted to bulldoze the 21 bills already passed by the National Assembly and other ordinances in the joint sitting?" she asked.
Earlier, the federal government had postponed the joint sitting of parliament, scheduled for November 11, saying that it wanted to develop a consensus with the opposition on the controversial bills, including the electoral reforms bills providing for use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and introduction of I-voting system for overseas Pakistanis in the next general elections.
A day after the joint opposition sought a written assurance from the government for holding negotiations on the bills, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had on Friday written a letter to Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif for initiating talks.
He had also formed a committee on legislative business with consensus from the government and opposition. But without any talks between the government and the opposition, the joint session has been convened again on November 17 (today), reported Dawn.