Minister offers opposition accord on 'common agenda'.

Byline: Iftikhar A. Khan

ISLAMABAD -- As the opposition slammed the government for skyrocketing price hike, ignoring parliament and making attempts to run the country through ordinances, a federal minister on Wednesday offered the opposition an accord on 'minimum common agenda'.

Speaking in the Senate on the first day of the new calendar year, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry called for forgetting the bitterness of the past and creating a consensus, warning that 'we cannot afford to miss the opportunity'.

Known for his fiery speeches against political opponents, Mr Chaudhry conceded that he had been a bit harsh in the past, but stressed that there was a need to turn the page in the new year. 'Future will slip out of our hands if things are not set right,' he cautioned. He agreed that 100 per cent consensus was not possible, but said democracy demanded minimum consensus.

The PTI leader was of the view that despite difference of opinion on some fundamental matters, there was a possibility of reaching consensus on the accountability system and appointment of the chief election commissioner and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Mr Chaudhry said the Constitution determined the balance of power between 'four institutions', which included the armed forces if political reality was to be taken into account. He said all the institutions currently appeared to be at odds.

'I think these four institutions are neither culpable in all matters nor blameless in all matters,' he said, adding that all the four branches were susceptible to making mistakes. Alluding to the controversy over extension in service of the army chief, he said: 'The army is not only the PTI's; it equally belongs to the PML-N, Jamaat-i-Islami and the JUI.'

About a lawmaker's concern over open criticism of the judiciary by Prime Minister Imran Khan during a public meeting, prompting the then chief justice of Pakistan to respond, Mr Chaudhry said that although he had great respect for the Supreme Court and the judiciary, the courts 'want to judge all of us parliamentarians on the touchstone of Articles 62 and 63 [of the Constitution] and hold us accountable, but the judiciary itself is not ready to come to the Public Accounts Committee. How will things function when public money is involved in all this?'

He said they wanted to hang former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf but wanted protection for judges who had taken the oath under the...

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