Government to table 20th Amendment Bill in National Assembly on Monday

The government would table 'The Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Bill, 2012 in the National Assembly on Monday, February 6, to give constitutional cover to the by-elections held under incomplete Election Commission after 18 amendment, which is likely to be passed unanimously.
The Supreme Court had given February 6, as the last date for giving constitutional cover to the by-elections, which were conducted by the Chief Election Commissioner in the interregnum after the passage of 18th amendment, otherwise those elected would be declared disqualified. The Bill was delayed due to negotiations with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for developing consensus for unanimous passage of the bill from the Parliament.
During negotiations, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly put forth four conditions to support the 20th Amendment Bill, 2012. The government accepted three conditions of the opposition except one. Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah said on the floor of the National Assembly that the 20th Constitutional Amendment Bill would be presented in the House on February 6 (Monday), which would be passed unanimously.
He said, "We want consultation with opposition for establishment of independent Election Commission for holding free, fair and transparent forthcoming elections." For negotiations with opposition, the government had constituted a team comprising Syed Khursheed Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar and Mian Raza Rabbani, who met Chaudhry Nisar to hold negotiation over the Bill.
Nisar put forth four conditions for supporting the bill which include:
1. Fully empowering Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commission to ensure next elections as free, fair and transparent and increasing the tenure of ECP members to five years from the existing two years.
2. Removal of ambiguity about the formation of caretaker government by substituting the words consultations with consensus.
3. Giving powers to the political parties to nominate member for women seats in case of any vacancy.
4. Handing over of EOBI, Workers Welfare Fund and Shaikh Zaid Hospital to the provincial governments after the devolution of ministries following the passage of 18th amendment.
The government's team accepted three conditions, except the formation of caretaker government and said they would consult the prime minister over it. They, however, said that the formation of caretaker government with consensus cannot be made part of the constitution and instead the prime minister would give an assurance on the floor of the National Assembly that the next caretaker government would be formed with the agreement of the leader of the opposition.
After meeting with government's team, Chaudhry Nisar said he could not rely on the assurance given by the prime minister because the PML-N had a terrible experience about the appointment of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, wherein writing a letter by the prime minister was considered as consultation with Leader of the Opposition.
To a question, he said that there were reports that the government wanted to extend the tenure of incumbent Chief Election Commissioner Hamid Ali Mirza. It would be unconstitutional and the PML-N would challenge it in the Supreme Court, which had already ruled an extension in his service as illegal, he said.