ISLAMABAD: The joint session of parliament to debate key bills on electoral reforms, including voting rights for overseas Pakistanis and electronic voting machines (EVM), has been postponed, with speculation rife in the capital Islamabad that the ruling PTI might not have the numbers to get the bills passed.

Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry in his statement on Twitter said that electoral reform is a matter of the future of the country and the government is trying in good faith to reach a consensus on these issues. Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar has been tasked to hold talks with the Opposition in this regard, he added.

“We hope that the opposition will seriously consider these important reforms and we will be able to adopt a common strategy for the future of Pakistan. However, if this does not happen then we cannot take back step from the reforms,” he said.

There has also been talk of coalition partners being unhappy with the PTI.

It is pertinent to mention here that the government was going to introduce and pass electoral reforms including the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) but the opposition opposed and some of the government’s allied parties were not fully satisfied on the issues.

According to a Geo News report all major Opposition parties, during a dinner hosted by the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif, have decided to foil the PTI’s bid to get controversial bills approved during the joint session of the Parliament.

According to the report, the Opposition has completed consultations on the joint sitting of the Parliament, deciding that all Opposition parties should ensure the presence of their members during the session.