Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Despite explicit instructions from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, more than 50 treasury members of the National Assembly were conspicuous because of their absence from the proceedings on Thursday when the House passed 22nd Constitutional Amendment to revamp the appointment procedure of the members and chairman of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The prime minister himself was missing, so Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan. Their presence would have definitely showed how important the top politicians considered the electoral reforms to ensure fair and transparent elections in future.

When National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq announced final passage of the bill, 240 MNAs were present in the 342-seat House.

The officials and telephone operators who delivered the prime minister’s message to the treasury MNAs that they must participate in the proceedings on Thursday had to receive some interesting answers.

Some of the MNAs taunted if they were really receiving a call from the Prime Minister’s House. They complained whenever they tried to reach the prime minister or any of the senior officials, their calls were not transferred by the operators. They are only remembered when the government finds itself in some sort of trouble and really needs them. A couple of MNAs inquired if the number appearing on their CLI should be dialed in future to talk to the prime minister or his secretaries.

The corridors of parliament are buzzing with the news of a ‘forward bloc’ within the ruling party. Neglected for too long by the prime minister and his team, several backbenchers have chosen not to join forward posts against the opposition’s vociferous attackers.

The parliamentary committee, which has been constituted to prepare the terms of reference for the proposed judicial commission, failed to smother the uncertainty prevailing all over after Panama leaks. While the opposition members are confident that countdown has begun, the treasury members are also skeptical about the future of their political boss.

The Lower House of parliament echoed with loud ‘Ayes’ in the final minutes of Thursday’s proceedings. All present in the House synced their voices to pass a bill that would increase the salaries of MPs by 10 times.

A similar move was made just before the last federal budget, but that had been vetoed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. A few months ago, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani disallowed a similar bill which sought abnormal increase in the salaries of the senators.

The MNAs concerned worked on that bill for several months. While salaries of civil servants may be increased by 10 percent in the upcoming budget, Dar may show generosity this time to sweeten the Eid-ul-Fitr for the ‘poor parliamentarians’.