PTI weighs return to parliamentary panels

2026-01-28 - 02:41

• Achakzai keeps mum, Gohar says parliamentary party to make decision • Dogar ties all decisions to meeting with Imran • Analysts believe PTI founder may decide the matter after Feb 8 protest ISLAMABAD: Days after the appointment of leader of the opposition in both the Senate and the National Assembly, the main opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), is seriously considering rejoining the standing committees of parliament, a move that remains contingent on the consent of its incarcerated founder, Imran Khan. A majority of PTI leaders are said to be keen to regain the chairmanship of standing committees, particularly the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in order to “resist” what they describe as controversial decisions and policies of the government. As the final decision to rejoin the committees rests with Mr Khan, political analysts believe he is likely to decide on the matter after the PTI’s countrywide protest scheduled for Feb 8. PTI previously held the chairmanship of more than a dozen standing committees in the National Assembly and five in the Senate, besides participating in several others. However, on the directives of its founder, the party withdrew from all standing committees in both houses of parliament in August last year. It has been learnt that a majority of PTI legislators now believe the party should not have exited the standing committees, as doing so allowed the government to function without effective parliamentary scrutiny. They believe Mr Khan’s decision ceded crucial ground to the ruling coalition. Talking to Dawn, a senior PTI leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said many key party decisions were pending and linked to a meeting between the jailed PTI founder, party legislators and his sisters. “The government should arrange a meeting between Imran Khan and party legislators so that he can be convinced that we must rejoin the standing committees,” he said. He added that relinquishing the chairmanship of the PAC was not a sagacious decision, as the party had used the forum effectively to expose alleged wrongdoing by the government. The PTI leader said that, besides the PAC, the party should not have vacated three other important committees — finance, law and justice, and human rights. He recalled that when PTI workers and members of the Punjab Assembly were recently maltreated by the police, the matter was taken up by a privilege committee. “On the other hand, PTI parliamentarians are often humiliated and manhandled by the police, but they cannot take such matters to the privilege committees of the Senate and the National Assembly,” he said. All decisions linked to jail meeting PTI Chief Whip Aamir Dogar, while talking to Dawn, agreed that all pending party decisions were linked to a meeting between Imran Khan and party leaders in jail. The newly-appointed leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Mehmood Achakzai, shortly after his maiden speech in the house, declined to comment on the possibility of PTI’s return to the standing committees. However, PTI acting chairman Barrister Gohar Ali said the decision regarding rejoining the standing committees would be taken by the party’s parliamentary committee. According to observers, Mr Khan’s decision to exit the standing committees mirrored his move in 2022, when he opted to quit parliament following the no-confidence vote instead of positioning PTI as a “heavyweight opposition” after his ouster from power. They believe the decision to withdraw from the committees did not create any vacuum in parliament. The absence of three or four PTI lawmakers from a committee did not affect the quorum, which requires the presence of one-fourth of the total members. Moreover, the departure made little practical difference, as members from the treasury benches replaced PTI representatives. In effect, PTI remained the sole loser in the entire episode. Courage to disagree Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, who heads the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat), said PTI leaders were effectively helpless, even if they favoured a return to the committees, as the authority to decide rested solely with Mr Khan. He noted that most PTI leaders lacked the courage to even disagree with Mr Khan’s position as they wished to remain in his good books. Mr Mehboob was of the opinion that Mr Khan would first assess the outcome of PTI’s Feb 8 countrywide protest and then decide on the issue of standing committees. He said democracy required PTI to return to the committees and play an effective role. However, he added, Mr Khan remained the final authority. “A lack of opposition representation in these important committees negatively impacts the quality of parliamentary proceedings,” he said. Calling the situation ironic, the Pildat chief said PTI’s decision to leave all standing committees, including the PAC, echoed its earlier move to quit the National Assembly and relinquish governments in provinces. Meanwhile, a source in the National Assembly Secretariat said NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had advised PTI on several occasions to return to the committees and that any such move by the party would be welcomed by the secretariat. Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2026