Parliament to retain 272 seats of National Assembly

ISLAMABAD - A meeting of parliamentary leaders has decided to retain 272 seats of National Assembly.

The meeting of parliamentary leaders was held in Islamabad on Tuesday with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the chair.

Later talking to media, Speaker National Assembly said the bill of delimitation of constituencies is likely to be approved during the current session of National Assembly.

While the number of seats held by Punjab was reduced by nine ─ seven general and two reserved seats ─ in the proposal, the number of seats held by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were increased by five and three, respectively.

It was proposed that KP be awarded four more general seats and one more reserved seat. Balochistan, on the other hand, would hold two more general seats and one more reserved seat.

It was also proposed that the number of seats held by the federal capital be increased by one. The number of seats held by Sindh would not change under the proposals.

The speaker said the extension of delimitation of constituencies will be on the basis of population.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Speaker said the Election Commission has requested the parliament to consider the issue on priority basis so that general elections are not delayed on this account.