Four bills sail through Senate amid opposition’s protest

The Senate Tuesday passed four bills including the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2024, the Pakistan Postal Services Management Board (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the National Highway Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2024 with majority vote.

All the bills were piloted by Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Azam Nazeer Tarar in the House.

Opposition in theSenate opposed the passing of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Amendment Bill from the Senate without deliberating upon it in the concerned Standing Committee.

The Law Minister was of the view that the bill had been approved by the National Assembly.

However, the opposition said they won’t allow the Senate simply a rubber stamp.

Opposition members protested at the time of bill approval and raised slogans. Opposition leader Shibli Faraz demanded to refer the bill to the Committee. He said if the bill was passed by the National Assembly, it was not mandatory that the Senate passes it and has to be sent to the Standing Committee.

Faraz said at the last minute things are being brought and bulldozed in the Senate.

Law minister Azam Nazir Tarar said new laws were not being made and only amendments were being introduced.

He said amendments are being made as the IMF calls for easing government control of state-owned enterprises.

The House passed all the bills through clause-by clause reading.

The opposition staged walked out of the session and demanded to refer the bills to the standing committees for detailed deliberation.

However, the minister said that the bills pertaining to minor amendments and these should be passed without further delay.

Earlier, the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs moved a motion under Rule 263 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, that the requirement of Rule 120 of the said Rules, be dispensed with in order to take into consideration the bills, as passed by the National Assembly.