ISLAMABAD - The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday got Chairmanship of the important Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights which was headed by the Opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the past.
PTI Senator Walid Iqbal has been unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights, according to details released by the Senate Secretariat. His name was proposed by Senators Mushahid Hussain Sayed and Gurdeep Singh which was seconded by all the members of the Committee.
PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar had been heading the Committee till March 11, 2021 when it ceased to function due to retirement of half members of the Senate. The Committee on Human Rights was functional in nature in the past, according to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012. The House in its last session had amended the rules to convert the nature of Functional Committee on Human Rights into the Standing Committee on Human Rights.
Interestingly, Leader of the House in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem in his consultation with Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani had agreed that the Standing Committee on Defence would go to the Treasury and the Committee on Human Rights would be given to the Opposition. According to the official sources in the Senate Secretariat, the Treasury and the Opposition swapped both the committees with PML-N Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed was given chairmanship of the Defence Committee and PTI was given Chairmanship of the Human Rights Committee.