Ishaq Dar says no plan to bring changes to 18th Amendment
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Former finance minister and Senator Ishaq Dar has said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has not taken any decision to introduce changes in the 18th Amendment, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
He expressed these views during a session of Senate which was presided over by its Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Tuesday.
He assured the upper house that the PML-N has not mandated its manifesto committee to bring changes in the 18th Amendment. He said that the debate on the 18th Amendment is not new, it’s very old.
Dar was of the view that “the 18th Amendment is not an issue but the real issue is: whether the provinces are acting upon it. Are the provinces doing everything required under the NFC Award? The real challenges being faced by Pakistan are health, education, and public welfare. Even in federal government, we allocate budget for health.”
He said that in Balochistan, 3,500 schools have been closed due to non-availability of teachers. We have to make sure that provinces are taking steps with regard to human resource development, he emphasized.
Senator Dar said that he and PPP leader Raza Rabbani were very active on the 18th Amendment and it was decided to rectify the flaws in the constitution.
It bears mentioning here that while addressing a public rally in Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed yesterday that the PML-N leaders were saying that things had been settled, and their party would get a two-thirds majority and they would amend the 18th Amendment.
However, Dar denied making any amendments.
Earlier, PML-N leaders Marriyum Aurangzeb and Irfan Siddiqui denied bringing any changes into the 18th Amendment.
Irfan Siddiqui denies too
Talking to 24NewsHD, Senator and chairman of PML-N manifesto committee Irfan Siddiqui said that there is no suggestion under consideration to bring changes in the 18th Amendments. He said that PML-N manifesto would be the true representative of the public aspirations.
Reporter Waqas Azeem