The Jatiya Sangsad on Sunday approved the formation of a 10-member special committee to recommend measures for addressing the recent fuel crisis, with a mandate of 30 days from the date of publication of the gazette notification.

The committee, comprising members from both the treasury and opposition benches, has been formed under Rule 266 of the Rules of Procedure and would submit a report with recommendations to JS.

The proposal to constitute the committee was placed in the House by chief whip Nurul Islam during a sitting presided over by speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

He said the committee would examine the ongoing fuel crisis and present its findings along with recommendations.

Chief whip said that the formation of such a joint committee, involving both government and opposition members, was a rare example in the country’s parliamentary history, recalling that similar consensus had previously been seen during the transition from a presidential to a parliamentary system of government.

Earlier, on April 23, prime minister Tarique Rahman placed the proposal in JS to form the committee in response to the fuel shortages triggered by global tensions, including the Iran-Israel conflict.

The five members from the treasury bench would be led by energy minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmood Tuku, who has been nominated as chair.

Other ruling party members included state minister for power and energy Anindya Islam Amit, along with ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan, Moinul Islam Khan and Miah Nuruddin Ahmad Apu.

From the opposition, the members are Md Saiful Alam, Md Abdul Baten and Md Nurul Islam of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, alongside Md Abul Hasnat of the National Citizen Party and Mohammed Abul Hasan of Khelafat Majlis.

During an unscheduled discussion in JS on Thursday, the leader of the House requested the opposition bench to nominate five members to join those already selected from the treasury bench.

In response, opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman nominated five lawmakers for the committee.

The initiative followed a proposal raised by Shafiqur Rahman during the 19th sitting of the first session of the 13th Parliament, calling for a joint effort to address the fuel crisis, which has been exacerbated by global developments, including tensions involving the United States and Iran.