Overview of 37^th Session of National Assembly

During the 37th session of the 15th National Assembly, no bill was introduced or passed. The only legislative activity during the session included laying of three (3) ordinances and extending the period of 2 ordinances. In addition, fifteen (15) laws passed by the National Assembly but not passed by the Senate within the stipulated period of 90 days were referred to the joint sitting of the Parliament by motions adopted by the National Assembly. All of this activity took place only on one day of the sitting held on Thursday, October 21, a day before the session was prorogued. The three (3) Ordinances laid in the house included the Public-Private Partnership Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 (No. XVIII of 2021), the Tax Laws (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 (XXII of 2021) and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 (XIX of 2021). The two (2) Ordinances extended for a further period of 120 days included Pakistan Civil Aviation Ordinance, 2021, and the Pakistan Airports Authority Ordinance, 2021. Fifteen (15) laws referred to the joint sitting of the Parliament by motions adopted by the National Assembly included the following:

1. The Emigration (Amendment) Bill, 2021
2. The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment in Section 4)
3. The Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment in Section 7)
4. The National College of Arts Institute Bill, 2021
5. The Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021
6. The Pakistan Academy of Letters (Amendment) Bill, 2021
7. The Corporate Restructuring Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2021
8. The Financial Institutions Secured Transactions) (Amendment) Bill, 2021
9. The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2021
10. The SBP Banking Services Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021
11. The Loans for Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Purposes (Amendment) Bill, 2021
12. The Maritime Security Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2021
13. The Port Qasim Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021
14. The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021
15. The Gwadar Port Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Key issues raised during the session included the National Assembly discussion on Uswa-e-Hasna of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), paying tribute to Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, non-allocation of additional three percent of NFC Award to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for former FATA, government’s failure to maintain law and order in various constituencies, non-implementation of commitments for tax exemption and other incentives made on the floor of the house, a suggestion to set-up a ministry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to look into the affairs of FATA, human rights violations in Balochistan, need for a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in the country and criticism on the statement made by Governor State Bank regarding the devaluation of Pakistani Rupee against Dollar, etc.