PTI senators to boycott joint sitting today

The joint sitting of parliament will take up a heavy agenda as it meets today (Tuesday) amid boycott by the PTI senators.

The National Assembly session is expected to pass the bill seeking amendment to the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act – apparently intended to soothe the nerves of the estranged allies in the ruling coalition.

However, sources said that the PTI has decided that the party’s senators will boycott the joint session of parliament.

According to the opposition chamber, no PTI senator will participate in the joint session of the parliament as all senators have been instructed to not attend the meeting, sources said.

The development to skip the session comes ahead of the fateful day – Friday – on which the PTI chief Imran Khan intends to dissolve provincial assemblies in K-P and Punjab along with en masse departure from all legislatures in a bid to trigger a spare of provincial polls and force the government to announce general elections.

Agenda items

According to the agenda item of the joint sitting, Senator Sherry Rehman will move the bill to amend the Global Change Impact Studies Centre Act, 2013 [The Global Change Impact Studies Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022], as passed by the National Assembly and not passed by the Senate within 90 days.

It will be taken into consideration at once under clause (3) of Article 70 of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar will move the bill to provide for the protection of parents [The Protection of Parents Bill, 2022], as passed by the National Assembly.

Senator Ishaq Dar will move the bill to provide for governance and operation of the management and financial efficiency of state-owned enterprises owned and controlled by the federal government [The State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Bill, 2022], as passed by the National Assembly and not passed by the Senate within 90 days.

A bill seeking to prohibit the business and practices of private money-lending and advancing loans and transactions based on interest [The Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Interest on Private Loans Bill, 2022] will also be moved.

Similarly, MNA Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto will move the bill to reconstitute the Medical and Dental Council in Pakistan [The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022], as passed by the National Assembly and Senate and returned by the president.

MNA Abdul Qadir Patel will move the bill to amend and consolidate the laws relating to the registration and training of nurses, midwives and lady health visitors [The Pakistan Nursing Council (Amendment) Bill, 2022].