A suggestion of legislative changes to allow the dismissal of bureaucrats instead of assigning them the status of Officer on Special Duty (OSD) has been proposed to the Senate Standing Committee for Law and Justice on Friday.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, PTI Senator Fauzia Arshad voiced concerns over declining standards in the bureaucracy in the committee meeting presided over by Chairman Farooq H Naik on Friday.
Senator Fauzia emphasised the need for legislation that would enable direct dismissal instead of making officers OSD.
During the same session, Senator Fauzia Arshad withdrew a bill to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 23, a proposal she had previously presented to the committee. The committee returned the bill upon her request.
The meeting also included discussions on a proposed bill under Article 62 of the Constitution, which would reinstate a graduation requirement for members of parliament. Senator Zamir Hussain Ghummro highlighted the inclusion of this criterion in the bill.
Chairman Farooq H Naik noted that this requirement was originally imposed by General Pervez Musharraf to prevent Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto from entering parliament, as he believed she was only a BA graduate.
Farooq H Naik added that Pervez Musharraf was later shown her graduation degree. Senator Kamran Murtaza commented that the condition may have been intended to restrict not only Benazir Bhutto but also Asif Ali Zardari. Due to the absence of Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, the bill was postponed.
The committee received a briefing on the Legal Aid and Justice Authority Bill. The Law Secretary explained that while this authority previously fell under the Ministry of Justice, it now operates under the Ministry of Law and Justice.
He also noted that the Director General's term had expired three months ago, to which Chairman Naik responded that any official could be given an acting charge for up to 90 days if the Director General is unavailable.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori