National Assembly approves a parliamentary committee on electoral reforms, all parties to sit on it

The National Assembly on Friday passed a motion allowing Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to set up a parliamentary committee on electoral reforms, in consultation with the Senate chairman, Business Recorder reported. The motion was moved by Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.

What the committee is meant to do

• Recommend reforms for "free, fair and transparent elections".
• Propose how modern technology can be used in the electoral process.
• Recommend the legislation needed to bring those changes in.

It will include representatives of all parliamentary parties. The Speaker can change its make-up on the advice of parliamentary leaders and form subcommittees. No deadline for its report was announced.

Also in the House on Friday

Passports. Dr Chaudhry said every passport now issued in Pakistan is an e-passport with an embedded chip, and passport services are being extended to district and tehsil level. Applications made by overseas Pakistanis through embassies are generally sent to headquarters for e-passport issue, he said, and a full nationwide switch will take time. For the current fees by page count and speed, use our passport fee calculator.

Islamabad sectors. About 94% of development work in Sector C-14 is complete, and plots in Sector E-12 have been handed to allottees, the House was told. If you hold a plot there, our plot size converter turns marla and kanal into square feet.

Workers Welfare Fund. Minister of State Muhammad Awn Saqlain said the WWF has 251 regular employees, 12 on deputation and 90 vacant posts, and that its use of 22 vehicles by Grade-20 officers was cut by half under the prime minister's austerity policy. Over five years its administrative costs were Rs 753 million and operational spending Rs 300 million.

PTV. Parliamentary Secretary Barrister Danyal Chaudhry said PTV's business plan is with its board, with approval expected within a few months.

New bills. The National Book Foundation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Pakistan Climate Change (Amendment) Bill, 2026 were introduced.