ISLAMABAD: The Joint Session of the Parliament on Tuesday deferred the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2023, following objections raised by lawmakers during discussions on the proposed amendments.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Senator Syed Ali Zafar and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senators Mian Raza Rabbani and Taj Haider expressed concerns over the amendments proposed in section 230-(a) of the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which pertained to the functions of the caretaker government.
However, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar clarified various points raised by the lawmakers and said that every amendment in the bill was discussed in the parliamentary committee.
The objections prompted National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf, presiding over the session, to direct the deferral of eight bills, including the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to allow lawmakers more time for consideration of the proposed changes.
According to section 129, sub-section 1 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, members can propose amendments to a bill when a motion is carried for a bill to be taken into consideration. If notice of an amendment has not been given at least one day before the relevant clause or schedule of the bill is to be considered, any member may object to the moving of the amendment.
In such cases, the objection prevails unless the Speaker allows the amendment to be moved.
The deferred bills included the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Exit from Pakistan (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Maintenance and Welfare of Old Parents and Senior Citizens Bill, 2023; the Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Banking Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the International Institute of Technology, Culture and Health Sciences Bill, 2023 and the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Apart from deferring the eight others until the next session, the joint sitting also passed three government bills, including the Qanun-e-Shahadat (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Control of Narcotics Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Petroleum (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
During the session, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar emphasised the importance of enhancing procedures and ensuring that culprits face the full consequences of their actions when discussing the Control of Narcotics Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was one of the three bills passed by the Parliament.
The government also withdrew the Protection of Parents Bill, 2023, citing that an identical bill introduced by private lawmaker Rana Maqbool Ahmad fulfilled the government’s objectives.
The joint sitting was adjourned until 12:30 pm on July 26 (Wednesday) for further discussions and consideration of the deferred bills.
