Analysis: PTI parliamentary panels exit to leave field open for govt

• Observers say move reminiscent of 2022 resignations, will strengthen treasury benches
• Lawmakers of ruling parties vie for coveted slots left vacant after over 40 opposition members quit standing committees

AS more than 40 PTI lawmakers quit parliamentary committees, including the apex Public Accounts Committee, in line with the order of their chief Imran Khan, the decision has been described by analysts as a “political blunder”, which will play into the government’s hands.

More PTI legislators are expected to submit their resignations to the National Assembly Secretariat on Monday — a move that will likely strengthen the treasury benches in parliament. According to observers, Imran Khan’s move to exit the committees was similar to his decision in 2022 when he decided to quit parliament after the 2022 no-trust vote instead of choosing to become a “heavyweight opposition” after his ouster from power.

According to the National Assembly Secretariat (NAS) officials, the decision to resign from the standing committees will not create any vacuum in parliament. The absence of three to four PTI lawmakers from a committee would not disturb the quorum that requires the presence of one-fourth of the members.

Therefore, the departure from these committees would not make any difference as members from the treasury benches would soon replace them, they added.

Against this backdrop, the treasury lawmakers were already vying for coveted slots left vacant by the PTI members, particularly the positions of the chairperson of at least 10 National Assembly standing committees. Once these positions are in the government’s hands, it will be smooth sailing for the ruling parties.

Previously, the government was facing immense resistance in these committees during debates on proposed legislation referred to respective committees for consultations. A senior PTI leader, on condition of anonymity, said many leaders were not in agreement with the decision taken by Mr Khan as they believed that this move would cede ground to the government.

“The resignations are being given at a time when the government (allegedly) is planning to get the 27th Constitutional Amendment passed,” he claimed.

He said the decision would force the party to rely on its street power and courts — a move that had proved counterproductive in the past. In 2022, the Supreme Court, in response to a PTI challenge against the NAB law, had asked the party why it did not raise its objections in parliament as “there was no alternative” to the house.

Talking to Dawn , Mudassar Rizvi of the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) said that despite the disqualification of its legislators, the PTI was still the largest party in both houses and should keep the opposition leader’s offices to maintain its strength. Anything else would be a “political blunder”, as some other party could get its hand on all the important positions despite having less representation.

For political analyst Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, who heads the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat), it was quite ironic that PTI decided to leave all standing committees, including the PAC. “This is the same act the PTI had done when it exited the National Assembly and ceded (governments in) all provinces, where it was ruling, one by one,” he added. “A lack of opposition representation in this important committee will negatively impact the quality of parliamentary proceedings,” Mr Mehboob said.

Vying for slots

On the other hand, MNAs from the ruling PML-N, the MQM, and the PPP are making efforts to occupy the vacant chairperson slots previously held by PTI in different standing committees. It is likely that the PAC office would go to PPP’s Naveed Qamar, who also chaired the recent meeting in the absence of PTI’s Junaid Akbar, being its “most senior member”. Nadeem Afzal Chan, however, said the next meeting of the PAC would not take place unless a new chairman was elected. However, PPP Secretary Information Nadeem Afzal Chan told Dawn that the party had not held any discussions on the matter.

A senior leader of PML-N, on condition of anonymity, said those party MNAs who could not get lucrative positions in the standing committees earlier were flexing their muscles to grab the vacant positions, especially the chairperson slots in the committees.

Besides the standing committee, the offices of the opposition leaders in the Senate and the National Assembly are also vacant, following the disqualification of the NA Opposition Leader Omar Ayub and Senate leader Shibli Faraz. Though the PTI has nominated Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai and PTI Senator Azam Swati for these slots, the party has kept them as backup options.

According to Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, there is no specified timeframe for the election of the opposition leader, but the assembly rules suggest that they should be nominated as soon as possible due to their role in key constitutional functions, including consultations over the names of the next chief election commissioner and ECP members.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2025

from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/OklPDIa