ISLAMABAD: Following the introduction of eight private members bills, the opposition staged a walkout in the National Assembly on Tuesday against tabling of three presidential ordinances which were later extended for another 120 days.

The opposition and the treasury members exchanged harsh words over the Journalists’ Protection Bill presented by Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari as it claimed that it was an old bill but the government wanted to take credit for it.

Soon after the walkout, opposition member Ibrar Ali Shah pointed out the quorum and the session started after 20 minutes.

The session lasted till 8:15 pm and concluded when another opposition member Shahida Rehmani pointed out the quorum.

Eight private members bills introduced

The House was adjourned till 11am on Friday.

Eight private members bills included the Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the Injured Persons Compulsory Treatment Bill, 2021, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment in Article-37), the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 202l, the Islamabad Healthcare Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the West Pakistan Pure Food (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment in Article-140A) and the Benazir Income Support Programme (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Syed Mehmood Shah, Syed Agha Rafiullah, Kesoo Mal Kheeal Das, Syed Javed Husnain, Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto, Nusrat Wahid, Kishwer Zehra and Naveed Amir Jeeva moved these bills in the House.

Speaker Asad Qaisar referred the bills to the standing committees concerned for deliberations.

Three ordinances extended for another 120 days are the Capital Development Authority (Amend­ment) Ordinance, 2021, the Income Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 and the PAF War College Institute Ordinance, 2021.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan moved these ordinances. On this, the opposition staged a walkout and the session was suspended for 20 minutes.

When the session resumed, the opposition members returned to their seats and the session continued till 8:15 pm.

Dr Awan moved a resolution to suspend the rules to take up the government agenda on the private members day.

Opposition lawmakers Syed Naveed Qamar and Shahida Akhtar Ali objected to the move to take up the government business, but Dr Awan said that these resolutions were on Monday’s agenda but were dropped to allow the House to discuss the Israeli aggression against the innocent Palestinian people.

When Dr Shireen Mazari moved the Journalists’ Protection Bill, Pakistan Peoples Party member Dr Nafisa Shah claimed that it was the same bill her government had introduced in 2012. But Dr Mazari asserted that the bill was new and she herself had drafted it.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Maryam Aurangzeb said her government had upgraded the PPP’s bill in 2016 and three such bills needed approval.

Dr Mazari said the bill introduced in 2015 was rejected by the media houses and organisations and therefore she, after three years’ hard work, presented a new bill which she said was acceptable to all stakeholders.

Speaker Asad Qaisar said he would examine both bills to ascertain whether it was the old or new one.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal moved a bill for establishment of a university that will promote Islamic norms and values. However, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood said the bill could not be referred to the relevant committee for debate without meeting all requirements of the Higher Education Commission.

Rashid Shafiq of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf rejected a bill to establish drugs test laboratories in educational institutions where drug addiction is said to be on the rise. He said the bill could not be entertained as it was a provincial matter.

However, Dr Awan said the issue fell in the purview of the federal government and not the provinces.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2021