Senate body wants autonomy for area study centres

Recommends govt abolish section of relevant law after reviewing it

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Tuesday recommended that the government consider providing greater autonomy and authority to Area Study Centres.

The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice recommended that the government review section 9-A of Area Study Centers Act 1975 and abolish it.

Reviewing a public petition regarding affiliation of Area Study Centers with universities, the Senate panel, presided over by Senator Javed Abbasi, recommended the government to abolish section 9-A from the law after reviewing it.

The act stipulates that area study centres should be set up in universities to study contemporary societies, particularly those affecting the national interest.

Section 9-A of the law states that the federal government may, by order published in the official gazette, transfer any centre to a university or the provincial government.

The petition to review this law was submitted by Rukhsana Qambar pertaining to the takeover of the area study centre for Africa, North and South America, in Islamabad by the Quaid-i-Azam University.

Meanwhile, the Senate committee also discussed the Constitution Amendment Bill, 2016 for giving regional languages the status of national language. The panel decided to finalise a report on the subject based on recommendations of the committee’s members.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2017.