No agenda items left over during 328th Session of the Senate

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No agenda items left over during 328th Session of the Senate

Highlights

  1. The Senate met for only 57 minutes in 1 Sitting
  2. Three (3) bills passed by the Senate in 328th Session

Working Hours

The 328th session of the Senate began on April 19, 2023 and was prorogued on same day. The sole sitting lasted 57 minutes.

Agenda Items Left Over

No agenda items were left over during the 328th session of the Senate.

Quorum

No Quorum was pointed out during the 328th session of the Senate.

Attendance

Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Punjab, PTI) attended the lone sitting. Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar Leader of the House (Punjab, PML-N) did not attend the Session. Fifty-three (53) Senators were recorded as present during the 328th Session.

Top 5 Vocal Senators

Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar (Punjab, PML-N) Federal Minister for Law and Justice was the most vocal Senator during the 328th session with a recorded talk time of 15 minutes. He was followed by Senator Mohsin Aziz (KP, PTI) who spoke for 08 minutes. Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Punjab, PTI) spoke for 06 minutes. Senator Mushtaq Ahmed (KP, JIP) spoke for 04 minutes. Senator Dilawar Khan (KP, IND) spoke for 03 minutes during the session.

Legislation

During 328th session, the Senate of Pakistan passed 3 bills. Out of these, 1 government bill originated in the Senate, while 2 government bills originated in the Senate.

The National Accountability (Amendment) Act,2023 aimed to empower the Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to transfer corruption cases involving amounts less than Rs. 500 million to the relevant agency, authority, or department. Additionally, it provided the authority to close pending inquiries and investigations if the chairman determined that no case was substantiate. This bill was assented by the President on April 14, 2023 thus taking 9 days to become an Act of Parliament.[1]

The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2023 proposed to provide relief to litigants and reduce the substantial burden on the courts. This bill received presidential assent on April 28, 2023 thus taking 14 days to become an Act of Parliament.

The Pakistan Maritime Zones Act, 2023 aimed to consolidate and amend the law concerning the territorial sea and maritime zones of Pakistan. The legislative initiative aimed to empower Pakistan to effectively address related issues in alignment with both national and international laws, thereby enabling the assertion of its rights, jurisdiction, and sovereignty in accordance with globally accepted provisions. Statement of objects and reasons of the bill stated that a process of revision of the existing law was initiated to give effect to the provisions of relevant international/ national maritime laws and to cater for other developments which have occurred in the maritime domain since 1997. This bill received assent by the President on April 26, 2023.

Table 1: Government Bills (0riginated in the Senate) passed during 328th Session

Table 2: Government Bills (0riginated in the National Assembly) passed during 328th Session

Time consumed on discussion of Policy Issues during 328th Session

The maximum time consumed in discussing policy issue was 15 minutes involving the bill titled the National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar amidst protests by Senators belonging to the PTI.

Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Shahzad Waseem (Punjab, PTI), alleged that the government had hastily passed amendments to the NAB law previously bypassing required legislative scrutiny in order to resolve their own cases pending in the NAB. Even though, the opposition parties had demanded a detailed discussion on the bills at the time in order to formulate a better law could be formulated, but the government rushed amendments with retrospective effect from 1999 to clear their own cases. The proposed amendments in the National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023 are akin to part-II of the NRO-II to suit the government’s individual interests, he asserted. Senator Mushtaq Ahmad of the JI alleged that the NAB law amendment bill was aimed at bringing “the big thief to the Parliament” and “putting the small one behind bars.” However, Senator Tarar defended the amendments in the NAB law by stating that these would strengthen the courts and empower them to refer cases to other forums, rather than solely relying on the NAB chairman or the executive board.[2]

Senator Mohsin Aziz from (KP, PTI) raised concerns regarding the report of the Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on the Charged Sums for General Election Provincial Assemblies of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bill, 2023. He questioned lavish spending of government officials on protocols and payment of Rs.18 billion for interest on a daily basis and asked how the government did not have Rs. 21 billion to conduct elections. The opposition leader also pointed out that the standing committee’s report on the provincial assemblies’ elections charged expenditure did not incorporate viewpoint of his party’s two senators, who are members of the committee concerned. [3]

The House discussed the surged of terrorism in the country. Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Senator Azam Nazir Tarar (Punjab-PML-N) also raised deep concerns over the recurrence of terrorism and brutal attacks on law-enforcement agencies. He pointed out that the previous PTI government was ready to have dialogue with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) while the TTP blatantly denied to follow the Constitution of Pakistan and rejected the writ of the State. He also discussed the withdrawal of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) forces from Afghanistan and its repercussions on Pakistan.[4]

It must be noted that PILDAT has classified that a policy issue is such that involves any recommendation on devising a policy. Any discussion on an issue that does not go beyond mere criticism or highlighting a concern does not fall into policy issue and is treated as discussion or time spent on non-policy issues.

Table 4: Time consumed on Discussion of Policy Issues

References

  1. Iftikhar A. Khan, “Another bill to amend NAB law sails through Senate,” Dawn online, April 20, 2023, accessed December 02, 2023. https://www.dawn.com/news/1748637. ↑

  2. Mumtaz Alvi, “Accountability bill sails through Senate amid jeers, catcalls,” The News online, April 20, 2023, accessed February 11, 2024. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1062593-accountability-bill-sails-through-senate-amid-jeers-catcalls. ↑

  3. Iftikhar A. Khan, “Another bill to amend NAB law sails through Senate,” Dawn online, April 20, 2023, accessed December 02, 2023. https://www.dawn.com/news/1748637. ↑

  4. Rizwan Gilzai, “Senate passes NAB law tweaks amid protest,” The Express Tribune online, April, 20, 2023, accessed February 19, 2024. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2412946/senate-passes-nab-law-tweaks-amid-protest. ↑