Senate panel clears maternity benefits amendment bill

Islamabad : The Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Friday unanimously approved the Islamabad Capital Territory Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Bill, 2022, presented by a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf member from the city, Fawzia Arshad.

The committee, which met with Mohsin Aziz in the chair here, discussed the bill, which declared that the provision of maternity benefits to working women in Islamabad Capital Territory was an important condition of employment.

According to it, the absence of those benefits puts working women at a disadvantageous position vis-a-vis their male counterparts and therefore, it is sought to clarify certain provisions of the law and safeguard working women's maternity benefits.

The participants also discussed the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Prosecution) (Amendment) Bill, 2022, (insertion of new sections 24A, 24B and 24C). The bill moved by Senator Mohsin Aziz was meant to monitor the movement of persons involved in sex crimes.

Minister of State for Law, Senator Shahadat Awan opposed the approval of the bill without consulting the provinces.

The committee members approved the bill with a majority vote.

The Capital Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022, introduced by Senator Fawzia Arshad was also reviewed. The purpose of the bill is to determine the persons responsible and punishment for the delay in the completion of housing projects in different sectors of the federal capital.

The CDA officials and Islamabad chief commissioner requested changes to several clauses of the bill.

The chairman said such a procedure should be devised with regard to these projects that new projects and schemes should not be approved until the completion of the ongoing projects so that grants can be issued to the projects in time. The committee approved the bill after changes.

A question raised by Senator Fida Muhammad Khan regarding the shifting of the libraries department to Sector H-9 Islamabad also came under discussion.

The chief commissioner promised the director-general's appointment to the relevant department within a week. The chair said the seniority of the employees should not be affected by the DG's appointment and the transfer of the department.

Minister Shahadat Awan opposed the approval of the bill without consulting the provinces.

The committee members approved the bill with a majority vote.