Creation of South Punjab province in limbo

The creation of a South Punjab province appears to be a distant dream as those in the corridors of power are yet to legally vet the proposal.

During the meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice held under the chairmanship of Mehmood Bashir Virk, the issue was once again put on hold, as the body sought political consensus on the bill.

When the 26th constitutional amendment bill related to the carving out of another province for the people of southern Punjab was brought up, Alia Kamran said that political parties should be taken into confidence.

“After the approval of the bill what will be the composition of the seats in the Senate?” she asked.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar said that all members should take the positions of their respective parties on the bill.

The chair said that they were deferring the bill.

Also, during the meeting, the bill amending Article 84 of the Constitution of Pakistan was reviewed as well.

Syed Hussain Tariq, the initiator of the bill, told the committee that the letter written by the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Law and Justice in this regard mentions another lawmaker instead of him.

Mohsin Shah Nawaz Ranjha then proposed calling Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in this regard. Qadir Khan Mandokhail also seconded this, and the committee then summoned the minister to the next meeting.

Furthermore, the committee reviewed the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Bill, 2022, and the law minister told the body that there will now be a cabinet committee that would look into the transactions before the cabinet’s approval. He added that parliamentary oversight is included.

Alia said that the three provisions should be deleted from the bill. “You are doing away with taking matters to court, which is against the law,” she remarked.

“When someone commits wrongdoing, they should be investigated,” she added. “What you are doing is giving precedence to previous laws.”

Tarar said that the constitutional mandate of higher and superior courts does not end with this. He said that everything will be discussed in the cabinet, and the existing laws that are signed today cannot be seen by anyone.

“We have made every effort to bring transparency,” he remarked.

The committee then approved the bill.