Govt to table seven bills in joint parliamentary session

A joint sitting of parliament would be held on Thursday, August 6 in which the government would table seven bills, including the mutual legal assistance (MLA) bill for approval, sources said.

The president on Monday convened the joint sitting of the Majlis-e-Shura Parliament on Thursday under Article 54 (1) of the Constitution. The sources said that before the session, the government and the opposition would meet on August 5 (tomorrow).

The federal government faces a challenge to get the country out of the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the sources said, adding that the government has to send its implementation report to the FATF by August 6.

To get out of the grey list, the government has to amend three key bills as per FATF requirements, said the sources. The government had completed legislation on two bills while the third, the MLA bill, will be tabled in the joint sitting on August 6.

Before tabling of the bill, the government would seek the cooperation of the opposition for the approval of the bills, sources said. The National Assembly had already passed the bills, while those could not be passed by the Senate had already been sent to the joint sitting.

The other bills sent to the joint sitting, pertained to increasing the number of judges of the Islamabad High Court, rights of persons with disabilities, survey and maps, the Federal Public Service Commission, and the Pakistan Medical Commission and Pakistan Medical Tribunals.