Punjab Assembly completes FATF-related legislation

The Punjab Assembly passed six laws in the first session of its third parliamentary year, while four new bills were presented.

The bills have been sent to the standing committees

Overall, the Punjab Assembly has so far passed 64 bills, of which 40 were principal laws. The number of new principal laws approved in Punjab is more than that of the National Assembly, Senate and the other three provincial assemblies.

The legislative process regarding the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requirements has also been completed in the province. The Punjab Assembly has passed three laws related to the money laundering and terror financing watchdog. These include the Punjab Waqf Properties Amendment Bill 2020, Punjab Trust Bill 2020 and Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill 2020. The house also approved the Punjab Women Protection Authority Amendment Bill, Protected Areas Bill and Times Institute Multan Bill. The rules of the assembly were suspended for the approval of the laws.

The opposition walked out of the assembly without taking a stand during the legislation related to the FATF. Only eight members of the opposition were present in the house at the time and as soon as the legislative process began, they quietly walked out of the house one by one.

Opposition MPA Iftikhar Chachar said the speaker had not given the opposition an opportunity to present its opinion and the assembly rules had not been followed during the important legislation. He said the opposition's rights had been violated by suspending the rules.

Law Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja had sought the cooperation of the opposition for legislation on FATF through consensus. The government was willing to delay its three other bills. However, the opposition did not participate in the legislation on the FATF on instructions of the party leadership. No amendments were proposed by the opposition to the laws.

Two laws related to the FATF -- The Punjab Seized and Freezed Institutions (Madrassas and Schools) Act and Punjab Seized and Freezed Facilities (Hospitals and Dispensaries) Act 2019 were passed last year. Thus, a total of five laws have been passed in the Punjab Assembly over the issue.

The four laws tabled in the house for approval include the Punjab Civil Servants Amendment Bill, Payroll Bill, Good Conduct Prisoners Probational Bill and Probation of Offenders Amendment Bill 2020. The laws are likely to be approved in the next session of the assembly.

A new amendment has been introduced under the Punjab Civil Servants Bill which will allow any government employee to retire voluntarily on completion of 25 years of service or reaching the age of 55 years. The Trust Act was enacted in 1872 and the new law has been introduced 148 years later. The Cooperative Societies Act of 1925 has been amended twice to change its structure.

As a result of reconciliation, the opposition's demand for discussion on inflation and law and order was made part of the government's agenda. After this, the opposition withdrew its requisition for a session of the assembly.

Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz and Law Minister Basharat Raja also attended the inaugural ceremony of a new mosque in Punjab Assembly along with the speaker. Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was also invited to the function but he did not attend it. The government and the opposition reached an understanding about a privilege motion regarding non-implementation of the production orders of Hamza Shahbaz. The assembly session was prorogued after the proceedings.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2020.