ECL amendment bill moved in Senate

ISLAMABAD: PPP Senator Raza Rabbani on Monday moved a bill in the Senate regarding Exit from Pakistan (Control) Amendment Bill, 2018. It provides that the government shall specify the grounds on which the order was proposed to be made and shall communicate such grounds within 24 hours of the making of the order to the person or class of persons prohibited. The bill was referred to the House committees concerned.

“The government shall decide the representation made within 15 days failing which the order made shall lapse. The statement of objects and reasons of the bill says the provisions of the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance, 1981, are in conflict with the fundamental rights conferred by the Constitution. The proposed amendments bring in harmony the provisions of the ordinance with the Constitution and are based on the observations of the superior courts,” Rabbani explained.

A proposed piece of legislation to make it binding upon governments to place agreements, treaties and contacts with other countries, donors and international monetary bodies before the parliament for ratification was moved in the Senate by Mian Raza Rabbani on Monday and referred to the committee concerned for consideration and report.

In all, as many as 13 bills were tabled in the House and referred to the committees concerned for deliberations and report, as it was a private members day. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who did not oppose the bill, introduced by former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, however, said that when the joint House committee takes up the bill, a representation from his ministry might also be invited to the meeting.

Opposition Leader in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq supported the PPP senator bill, saying matters like foreign agreements should not be confined to the executive and that the parliament should have a say in them.

The bill: The “Ratification of Foreign Agreements by Parliament Bill, 2018” provides that various economic and other agreements signed by the treaties, contacts and trade protocols signed with other countries or banks, donors or lending agencies by the government be ratified by the Parliament. “Ratification means, it be passed a simple majority of each House,” the bill says. Rabbani explained that the government would place a foreign agreement, contract or protocol to be signed with any country before both the Houses of the Parliament to seek approval of its draft within 15 days of its finalisation.

He pointed out it was a practice in several countries that all agreements were ratified by the parliament, adding the legislation would bind a governmentto present in the legislatures, all agreements, on which it had negotiated with foreign nations or bodies.

His third bill is The Banking Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which seeks to delete section 27B that places fetters on the functioning of trade unions in banking organisations. The fourth bill: The SBP Banking Services Cooperation Ordinance (Repeal) Bill, 2018 provides that once the State Banking Services Cooperation Ordinance, 2001, is repealed, all employees shall stand reversed to the SBP on the same terms and conditions and seeks their notifications.

PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman, on Monday also submitted two labour-related bills in the House, seeking to amend the Board of Investment Ordinance 2001 and the Foreign Private Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act 1976.

Prime Minister Imran Khan came under fire in the Senate for allegedly ‘washing the dirty linen in China’ and his government was also slammed for ‘botched’ handling of the recent sit-in by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan. The House witnessed exchange of hot words and allegations, mainly between PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan and PTI Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak for the sorry of state of affairs in Pakistan and the poor economic condition.

At one time, Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, repeatedly urged both sides to show restraint and he also expunged ‘insults’ and also afterwards gave ruling, barring the media, both print and electronic not to report, which was expunged by the chair.

Taking part in the ongoing debate on the four-point agenda, filed by the opposition, for requisition of the last session, PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar charged that the rulers were doing completely against what they had been saying before coming to power.

Referring to TLP, he pointed out that a registered political party crossed the red line. "Are we going to continue tolerating a political party which talks openly about creating anarchy in the country? The Constitution calls for the suspension of a party's membership if it talks against the country's sovereignty,” he said.

Senator Khokhar said a religious party’s top leadership called the SC judges liable to be killed and openly incited mutiny against the military and called the leadership Jew. He noted that Article 17 (2) of the Constitution clearly states that if a political party undermined Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity, the government would send a declaration against it and the apex court would decide it within 15 days.

Later, PML-N Senator Mushahidullah came hard on the government for what he alleged its incompetence and ‘begging’ from abroad. He questioned the calling of begging the government’s achievement. He questioned the logic behind Prime Minister making tall claims before leaving for begging loans and inviting investors to Pakistan while talking about ‘rampant corruption’ here.

PTI Senators Nauman Wazir Khattak and Mohsin Aziz defended the government policies. Minister of State for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar said in the Senate that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected data of 96,000 resident Pakistanis having bank accounts in 27 countries, while data from 13 countries was being collected.