Government formally seeks opposition nominees for electoral reforms committee, but PTI calls participation ‘difficult’
The federal government has formally approached the opposition to nominate members for the proposed Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, though the opposition says joining will be difficult while its grievances over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and detained leaders remain unaddressed.
The federal government has formally approached the opposition to seek its representation on the proposed Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, in the latest step towards setting up a body intended to make Pakistan’s electoral process fair, transparent and acceptable to all stakeholders.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry telephoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief whip in the National Assembly, Aamir Dogar, on Tuesday, asking him to submit the names of opposition lawmakers for the committee. Dogar confirmed to Dawn that the minister had called him, and said the opposition would hold a meeting to discuss the invitation, with the decision to be announced by National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai.
Dogar described participation as difficult under the prevailing circumstances, pointing to the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the alleged detention of the provincial chief minister and the arrest of more than ten PTI leaders. He also repeated the party’s allegation that its mandate had been stolen in the last general elections, a claim the government rejects.
PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan struck a somewhat softer note, telling journalists that the opposition would not object to the formation of the committee if the dialogue was conducted sincerely, leaving the door open to participation even as the party consults internally.
The committee is an initiative of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Chaudhry said, rather than of the Pakistan Peoples Party, even though the PPP has been among the most active in pressing the opposition to join. The PPP, a major ally of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, had already approached Achakzai in the National Assembly and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas in the Senate, inviting them to take part.
On Monday, Chaudhry had contacted the ruling coalition’s allies and written separate letters to the PPP and MQM-P chief whips in the National Assembly, Ijaz Jakhrani and Aminul Haq, seeking their nominations. Under the proposed formula, one committee seat would be allocated for every 16 members of the National Assembly, giving the PML-N nine members, the PPP five and the MQM-P one.
Smaller parties allied with the ruling coalition do not qualify for representation under that criteria, Chaudhry said, so the PML-N has decided to allocate one seat each to its smaller allies, including the Balochistan Awami Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Zia, from its own quota of nine seats.
The move follows weeks of groundwork. A PPP delegation led by Senator Sherry Rehman visited the Senate opposition leader’s chamber on 30 October to press the case for joining, and another delegation met Achakzai the previous day. Rehman has said a resolution passed on the proposal of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari provides for a committee comprising members of both Houses, which would deliberate on reforms and present recommendations to parliament for approval.
The committee’s formation is also tied to a second long-delayed question: the appointment of a new chief election commissioner. The PPP has blamed the opposition for the delay, while also urging opposition lawmakers to return to the Senate and National Assembly standing committees they quit in August 2025 on the instructions of the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.
What happens next depends on the opposition’s internal meeting. If it agrees to join, its nominees would be submitted to the speaker and the committee could begin work with representation from across parliament. If it declines, the government could still proceed with coalition members alone, but the committee’s claim to broad consensus — the very reason it was proposed — would be weakened from the start.
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