Parliamentary committee meetings come to grinding halt due to coronavirus

ISLAMABAD: As the second wave of coronavirus continues to spread, the committee meetings of both the National Assembly and Senate have come to a standstill. There has been no meeting since November 24 nor is any session scheduled in the near future.

According to a news report published in The News on Wednesday, in normal times, the committee system of the Upper House of parliament has been vibrant and its parliamentary panels are known to regularly take up a host of issues.

Amid the rising coronavirus infections, the Senate Secretariat called off the meetings of all of its standing committees.

Despite the implementation and pursuance of the standard operating procedures devised by the government, the secretariat did not go ahead with meetings of the House committees.

Four sub-panels of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) are holding their sessions on December 8 and 9 in the National Assembly.

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All the eight sub-committees of the PAC have been busy despite COVID-19. A virtual attendance facility has been arranged for members.

In addition, the Parliamentary Committee on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will meet in Muzaffarabad on December 9, 10 and 11.

During its three-day stay there, the 20-member forum will hold a meeting on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects relating to hydel power, infrastructure and socio-economic development.

No early session of either the National Assembly or the Senate is planned any time soon due to the coronavirus threat. However, discussions have been held on holding virtual sessions of the NA, but the opposition parties are not in favour of it.