Led by the Prime Minister himself, who is also the finance minister, the CCI will comprise four chief ministers and three federal ministers from three provinces including inter-provincial co-ordination minister Salim Saifullah Khan from NWFP, minister of states and frontier regions Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind from Balochistan and narcotics minister Ghaus Bukhsh Mehr from Sindh.
"The CCI is a very important institution under the Constitution and the President would soon convene a meeting of the CCI and consult with other members to see what issues could be considered," the Prime Minister told a press conference here at the Prime Minister house.
He said constitution of the CCI is a very positive development, as it would promote harmony between the centre and provinces. He said the Supreme Court had also mentioned revival of the CCI in the Pakistan Steel Mills case, which could also be discussed as the government respected the Supreme Court judgement.
He declined to comment what issues were being referred to the CCI, saying as chairman he has not yet considered the agenda but a constitutional requirement has been met and there would be headway in the course of time.
He said the CCI would improve relations between provinces and the centre and among provinces themselves. Responding to a question on Pakistan Steel Mills, the Prime Minister said he would consult members whether or not there was any need to consider privatisation and if required it would be definitely discussed along with a number of other issues like oil, gas, electricity and railways, etc.
He did not agree with a questioner that interim National Finance Commission award could also be discussed by the CCI and said the NFC is covered under different constitutional sections. The CCI would discuss all issues listed in the federal legislative list.
Asked if the National Security Council and CCI overlapped each other as the CCI was not revived in the past, the Prime Minister said the NSC has a totally different role and was an advisory body while the CCI was a constitutional forum that would promote the environment of consultation and mutual understanding to resolve issues.
Responding to a question on opposition's demand for resignation of the President, the Prime Minister said the agenda of the present government was to take the country forward on the path to development and growth through serious governance while the opposition was indulging in negative politics and criticism for the sake of criticism that did not do any good to the people. Asked it assemblies tenure could be increased as indicated by some PML leaders, the Prime Minister said such a thing was not under consideration. Responding to another question on contacts with opposition leaders, the Prime Minister said contacts and disagreement with opposition was a normal democratic and political process.