ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms started on Thursday the first reading of proposals received from individuals and political parties.

Senator Mian Raza Rabbani who heads the committee said he was confident that members would succeed in formulating a consensus constitutional package if they maintained their present positive frame of mind.

Mr Rabbani told this correspondent that the atmosphere in the meetings held so far gave him hope the committee would achieve its objectives in a short time.

However, insiders said the progress had been slow because of differences among political parties on the mode of reforms.

According to them, the Pakistan People’s Party wants the entire constitution revisited as suggested by President Asif Ali Zardari in his address to a joint session of parliament.

But the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) is of the opinion that only by repealing the 17th amendment the immediate problem facing the parliamentary system may be solved.

The nationalist parties, on the other hand, want the government to announce provincial autonomy parameters before taking up any fresh amendments.

The parliamentary committee decided to discuss various aspects of the 17th amendment in meetings over the next few days.

The committee comprises Raja Parvaiz Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Zaheeruddin Babar Awan and Haji Lashkari Raisani of the Pakistan People’s Party; Ishaq Dar, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan and Chaudhry Ahsan Iqbal of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz; Farooq Sattar and Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi of Muttahida Qaumi Movement; Asfandyar Wali Khan of Awami National Party and Maulana Fazlur Rahman of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.