Bill for Bahawalpur-South Punjab province tabled in Senate

Bill determines allocation of seats for assembly of proposed province and setting up of High Court there

ISLAMABAD: On the private members day in the Senate, two constitutional amendment bills were introduced on Monday, seeking the creation of a new province under the name of Bahawalpur-Janoobi Punjab, and increase in a number of seats for Balochistan in the National Assembly.

As many as eight private members bills were introduced in the house on Monday and all of them were referred to the relevant standing committees for further deliberations on them. The House also considered the supplementary agenda and passed the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

The bill to create a new province by bifurcating Punjab was jointly sponsored by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmakers Bahramand Tangi, Rubina Khalid, Imamuddin Shouqeen, Sikandar Mandhro, Islamuddin Shaikh, Gianchand, Keshoo Bai, Sherry Rehman, and Jamaat-e-Islami's Mushtaq Ahmed.

The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks amendments of Articles 1, 51, 59, 106, 175A, 198 and 218. The bill mainly determines the allocation of seats for the assembly of the proposed Bahawalpur-Janoobi Punjab province and setting up of High Court there.

The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Amendment of Articles 51 and 106), was jointly sponsored by 18 Senators, hailing from Balochistan, to increase the number of National Assembly seats for Balochistan from 20 to 37 and raise the strength of the Balochistan Assembly from 65 to 80.

The lawmakers also demanded an increase in the number of general seats for Balochistan in the National Assembly from 16 to 30 and reserved seats for women from four to seven. The bill also demanded an increase in the number of general seats in provincial assembly from 51 to 64 and reserved seats for women from 11 to 13.

Meanwhile, senators from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) called for providing proper medical facilities to former president Asif Ali Zardari in jail as per rules.

PPP’s Sherry Rehman said the former president should be provided all necessary medical facilities. She claimed that despite the court's permission, the party leaders were not allowed to meet Zardari at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science (PIMS).

Opposition Leader Raja Zafarul Haq said Zardari and other detained leaders should be dealt with according to law.

Introducing bill seeking amendments in National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, PPP proposed abolishing NAB power to arrest any individual at the stage of inquiry or investigation, saying “same has been misused and persons are forced to make statements while arresting during inquiry/ investigation”.

PPP senator Farooq H Naek introduced NAB amendments bill 2019 in the senate. The bill has been referred to the ministry concerned with the consent of the federal government.  Naek, who is being considered as PPP top legal mind, has recommended the omission of section 24 (d) and 24 (e) pertaining to the procedure adopted for the arrest of a person by the NAB.

“This provision is being misused to deny liberty to respectable citizens and exert undue pressure to extract statements favourable to the prosecution regardless of the truth. There is no need for the custodial investigation as the investigation can be carried out and a person can be questioned in the NAB office without being detained overnight,” said the bill.