ISLAMABAD: The Joint Session of the Parliament on Tuesday approved three government bills and deferred 8 others till the next session after the speaker’s direction for giving time to the legislators to consider on amendments proposed.
The bills approved included the Control of Narcotics Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Qanun-e-Shahadat (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Petroleum (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Speaking on the first bill, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar stressed the importance of enhancing procedures and ensuring that criminals were fully aware of the results they would face upon committing any crime.
He voiced confidence that the amendments proposed would lead to important improvements in the system.
Parliament Differs Various Bills
The deferred bills were the International Institute of Technology, Culture and Health Sciences Bill, 2023; the Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Maintenance and Welfare of Old Parents and Senior Citizens Bill, 2023; the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Exit from Pakistan (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Banking Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2023; and the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2023
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Senator Syed Ali Zafar and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) senators Taj Haider and Mian Raza Rabbani mainly raised objections to the amendments proposed in section 230(a) of the Elections (Amendment) Bill, related to the caretaker government’s functions.
However, the law minister Tarar clarified different points raised by the legislators and said that every amendment in the specific bill was discussed in the parliamentary committee.
It was decided to have a detailed discussion on all amendments in the next session.
The joint session was adjourned till 12:30 p.m. on 26 July (Wednesday).
