PPP chairman constitutes four-member committee for budget negotiations with federal govt
\n islamabad
\nPakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday denied any immediate discussions with the federal government on a potential 28th Constitutional Amendment, saying he would comment if there were any developments.
\n\u201cNo talks have taken place yet on the 28th Amendment; [but] I do not know about tomorrow,\u201d he said while addressing the PPP\u2019s parliamentary party meeting. During the meeting, Bilawal said that he himself had spoken about the 27th Amendment and noted that the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments had secured provincial rights.
\nHe added that PPP\u2019s efforts ensured the representation of all provinces in the Supreme Court and Federal Constitutional Court.
\nHis remarks follow State Minister for Law Barrister Aqeel Malik\u2019s statement, rejecting impressions that the potential 28th Amendment would roll back the 18th.
\n\u201cThis impression being created that if the 28th Amendment is introduced, it is a rollback of the 18th Amendment \u2014 I believe an extremely false impression is being created,\u201d Malik said.
\nThe minister added that no official work was currently underway on any constitutional amendment, but acknowledged that broader national issues had been discussed previously.
\nThe 18th Amendment \u2014 passed during the PPP-led government in 2010 \u2014 has triggered many debates in the past, with calls to make changes to it. However, PPP has strongly objected to such proposals and has vowed resistance against any tweaks to the amendment.
\nMeanwhile, the PPP chief constituted a four-member committee \u2014 comprising MNAs Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Naveed Qamar, and senators Saleem Mandviwala and Sherry Rehman \u2014 for budget negotiations with the federal government.
\nAccording to Bilawal, the federal government would not be able to amend the constitution or pass the budget without his party\u2019s support.
\nHe cautioned that the upcoming budget could bring greater hardships for the public.
\nPakistan was facing an economic crisis, he said, warning that inflation was heavily impacting citizens across the country.
\nThe PPP chief said that political parties also felt the suffering of the public, adding that he welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s relief measures in difficult times.
\nThe prime minister had requested provinces to assist the federation in curbing inflation, he said, adding that the PPP would work with the federal government to ease economic pressure on the public.
\nHe maintained that no offer had been made to him regarding the Iran\u2013US war and negotiations, while expressing hope that talks between Tehran and Washington would succeed in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PPP chairman constitutes four-member committee for budget negotiations with federal govt islamabad Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday denied any immediate discussions with the federal government on a potential 28th Constitutional Amendment, saying he would comment if there were any developments. \u201cNo talks have taken place yet on the 28th Amendment; [but] […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-546461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n