Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The government passed four bills, including the Trade Organisations Amendment Bill 2021, during Friday’s joint session of parliament, despite disruptions caused by opposition lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The session, presided over by Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, began an hour later than scheduled, media reported. PTI lawmakers created a ruckus in the house, holding placards and vocally opposing the proceedings.
Prominent figures, including Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and Sherry Rehman, were present.
However, Bilawal Bhutto arrived after the session had ended.
Opposition members requested the right to speak on points of order, but the speaker denied the microphone to the opposition leader, prompting protests. Opposition members chanted slogans rejecting the PECA Act during the session.
As protests and sloganeering intensified, the proceedings were severely disrupted, prompting the Speaker to wear headphones to continue the session.
Commerce Minister Jam Kamal presented the Trade Organisations Amendment Bill 2021 and the Imports and Exports Regulation Amendment Bill 2023, both of which were approved.
Senator Manzoor Kakar introduced the National Excellence Institute Bill 2024, which was passed, along with the National Institute of Technology Bill 2023.
The joint session was adjourned until February 12. The session lasted a total of 18 minutes, during which four bills were passed in just nine minutes.
Earlier, Pakistan’s National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, on Friday elected a member of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party as the head of its accountability committee, amid prevailing political tensions in the South Asian country.
The Public Accounts Committee is among the most powerful parliamentary bodies in Pakistan and holds the authority to summon virtually any individual or record from government departments. Its main objective is to uphold transparency and accountability across all public and constitutional institutions, promoting financial integrity and good governance.
The development came a day after ex-PM Khan called off negotiations with the government over its failure to establish judicial commissions to investigate violence at anti-government protests organized by his party. The talks, which began last month after Khan threatened a civil-disobedience movement, aimed to ease political tensions, but have not yielded desired results after three rounds.
