NA passes 15 amendment bills

The National Assembly on Thursday passed 15 amendment bills for the consideration of the joint sitting of parliament.

The NA session was chaired by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.

At the beginning of the meeting, the deputy speaker thwarted the strategy of the opposition members to get the meeting adjourned by pointing out the quorum.

Suri adjourned the sitting till the quorum was completed. When the quorum was full, the meeting proceeded.

The bills referred to the joint sitting after the passage of these motions included the Emigration (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment in Section 4); the Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment in Section 7); the National College of Arts Institute Bill, 2021; the Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Pakistan Academy of Letters (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Corporate Restructuring Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Financial Institutions (Secured Transactions) (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the SBP Banking Services Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Loans for Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Purposes (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Maritime Security Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Port Qasim Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Gwadar Port Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

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Three ordinances were also laid in the House, which were the Public-Private Partnership Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021; the Tax Laws (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.

The House adopted two resolutions granting extension to as many ordinances for a further period of 120 days with effect from November 3, 2021. These ordinances included the Pakistan Civil Aviation Ordinance, 2021 and the Pakistan Airports Authority Ordinance, 2021.

Eights reports of various standing committees on as many bills were also presented in the House. The legislative proposals on which reports were presented included the Employees' Old-Age Benefits (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill, 2021; the Juvenile Justice System (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the National Commission on the Rights of Child (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Pakistan Maritime Zones Bill, 2021.

Clause-wise approval of the bill for further amendment in the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Ordinance was underway when PML-N member Rao Ajmal once again pointed out the quorum.

As the quorum was not met, the House adjourned the proceedings till 11 am today.

(With input from APP)