ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday yet again failed to take up and adopt the opposition-moved constitution amendment bill, seeking establishment of 10 more high court benches in all the four provinces aimed at resolving the issues of pending cases and delay in litigation.
The bill has already been on the orders of the day thrice at least since early January this year. Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in the middle of the debate on the bills for increase in pay and privileges of legislators, decided to the item No. 10 on the orders of the day.
He urged the senators, sitting in the lobbies or elsewhere to be return to the House so that the bill be taken up for voting. He also ordered ringing of the bells for two minutes. However, the required 68 members of the 104-member Senate were not around, as the constitutional amendment bill mandates presence of 68 senators in the House.
The chair previously had directed the senators to be present during the private members day but the required number did not turn up and fourth time, the result was the same. He deferred the bill till next Monday.
The draft bill, already cleared by the relevant committee, seeks an amendment to Article 198 of the Constitution, was tabled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz member Javed Abbasi as a private member’s bill in the Senate on April 29, last year and Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani had referred it to the law and justice committee of the House despite its opposition by the government.
However, the House unanimously passed the Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Bill, 2020. The chair directed the Senate Secretariat to write to the speakers of the provincial legislatures to also enact such laws for speedy issuance of letters of administration and succession certificates, as the draft bill, adopted concerned the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Muhammad Azam Swati protested when opposition senators proposed inclusion of two opposition members of the Parliament; one each from the Senate and the National Assembly in the National Counter Terrorism Authority, as he rose to put the bill to amend the Counter Terrorism Authority (Amendment Bill, 2019).
He contended that the government would have to then resort to legislation through ordinances, if the opposition returned to its old ways of impeding legislation by floating amendments following clearance of the bills from the House concerned committees. However, the chair referred the bill again to the committee with a direction to report back to the House within three days.
The minister said that on the basis of their numerical strength, the opposition was again impeding legislation while his commitment of accommodating the two members from the Parliament from the opposition benches afterwards, was rejected by the opposition senators.
In many districts including Rawalpindi, there is no smog problem to close schools
Sub-Inspector and Head Constable were assisting damaged vehicle near Butgram when they were struck by negligent driver
Court postpones decision on acquittal petitions of Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi until November 14
Lawmaker urges PIACL management to fix all those responsible for lapse to avoid recurrence of such incidents
Incident took place last night in the Narmuk area near Johan, where the bodies of three brothers
Justice Shahid Karim says government has done nothing so far about issue of smoke-emitting vehicles
