Kerfuffle in Senate as PTI opposes govt's bills

Party alleges bills 'bulldozed' without debate in the relevant committee; stages walkout

ISLAMABAD:

A bill seeking to amend Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution and a new transgender protection law was presented in the Senate on Monday amid a ruckus and a loud chorus of protest from the opposition.

Meanwhile, mounting strong resistance against the passage of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022, PTI tore copies of the bill and staged a walkout from the house.

Opposition leader in the upper house, Dr Shahzad Waseem, called into question the government’s hardball tactics to bulldoze the bill and the way it always attempted to steamroll the laws through.

The Senate meeting was held under the chairmanship of Sadiq Sanjrani.

Nine bills were introduced in the house, including four bills relating to rights of the transgender persons.

These bills include: “The Right to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2022”, “The Tosha Khana (Management and Regulation) Bill, 2022”, “The Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2022”, “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022” [Amendment of Article 62], “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022” [Amendment of Articles 215, 218 and 228] and “The Khunsa Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2022.”

Three bills titled “The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) (Amendment) Bill, 2022” were also introduced in the Senate.

The chair referred the bills to the standing committees concerned.

Meanwhile, the House passed “The National Commission on the Rights of Child (Amendment) Bill, 2022”, “The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Bill, 2022” and “The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022.”

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed's bill related to the protection of transgender persons.

Senator Walid Iqbal, who also chairs Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, said no provision of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan allowed for anti-Sharia law.

“If any member or senator has something to say about the transgender law and rights, they should present their comments before the human rights committee,” he suggested.

‘Khunsa Persons Bill’

Speaking about the transgender law, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed said that the transgender community was a part of society and was entirely entitled to their rights.

However, he emphasised that scholars of all schools of thought agree that the current transgender bill, which was passed in 2018, was against the law.

He requested the house to repeal the transgender act.

He introduced ‘The Khunsa Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2022’ in place of the existing Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018.

The bill defined the transgender person as a ‘Khunsa’ person who, according to the proposed bill, has genetic characteristics or inborn desires of both male and female.

A transgender person shall have the right to be registered as male or female with government departments, including NADRA on the recommendation of a medical board.

According to the provisions of the bill, there will be a medical board for the sex reassignment of transgender persons. A medical facility will be set up in every district with a professor doctor, both male and female general surgeons, a psychiatrist and a chief medical officer.

Moreover, harassment or any kind of discrimination against transgender persons inside or outside the home shall be prohibited.

According to the bill, there will be no discrimination against the ‘Khunsa’ persons in inheritance. They will have the right to education, health, assembly, access to public places, property and employment and voting.

Replacing ‘sadiq’ and ‘ameen’

A bill to amend Article 62 of the Constitution was also presented in the Senate.The bill moved by PPP Senator Palwasha Khan recommends deleting the words of Sadiq and Ameen and replacing them with Rastgo and Wafa Shaar words.

The bill states: "In the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in Article 62, in clause (1), in sub-clause (f), for the expression 'honest and ameen', the expression 'veracious and devoted' shall be inserted."According to Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, a person may be qualified or elected as a member of the parliament provided he has adequate knowledge of Islam and is essentially 'sadiq and ameen' (honest and righteous).

"In literal terms, Sadiq is a qualitative metaphor used for one who has never spoken a lie. Ameen refers to one who has never breached anyone's trust. These two words are used in Arabic as lagab for Holy Prophet (PBUH) for his unprecedented truthfulness and honesty which no man can practice and reach the level.".

It further states that Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution imposes Islamic ethical conditions for eligibility of a candidate for election to the parliament but these are made applicable to both Muslim as well as non-Muslim candidates for parliamentary membership.

In this regard, it added, the current code of conduct of the members of United Kingdom can be a good example as the universality of standards of honorable conduct in public life in the contemporary democratic world, irrespective of faith or culture, makes it plausible for all candidates for the parliament including non-Muslim candidates to be eligible.

The house also passed another bill, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022, amid protests by the opposition lawmakers who alleged that the bill sponsored by Saleem Mandviwalla and independent Senator Kauda Babar, was not discussed by the relevant standing committee.

Members belonging to PTI also surrounded the dais of Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

The opposition later walked out of the house against its passage.