The joint sitting of parliament on Wednesday (today) would take up a seven-point agenda, including the collective political and law and order situation in the country, legislation in connection with the elections for the local governments, and India depriving the disputed territory of Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status on August 5, 2019.
Motion would be tabled for debates on the economic crisis, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Jammu and Kashmir, respect for national institutions, population boom, effects of climate change and foreign policy.
The joint sitting would be presided over by National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
The joint sitting is likely to exceed its scheduled time because of the legislation that needed to be passed. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would not be present in the sitting and attend the second one as he was visiting Turkiye in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake there.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would present the resolution on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), highlighting the New Delhi’s illegal move to change its status and its atrocities against the residents.
It reiterates Pakistan's “unstinting moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmir cause”.
The resolution expresses serious concern at the presence of more than 900,000 Indian forces that has turned the llOJK into one of the most militarised regions of the world.
It also “condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the ongoing human rights violations in IIOJK, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, the so-called ‘cordon- and-search’ operations, destruction and confiscation of properties, and torture”.
The resolution demands that “India must rescind its illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 and subsequent measures and earnestly implement the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions so as to enable the Kashmiri people to determine their future through the democratic method of a fair and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices”.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi would table motions for debates on the economic crisis, CPEC, Jammu and Kashmir, respect for national institutions, the increasing population, effects of climate change and foreign policy.
The seven point agenda of the joint sitting also included legislation related to the local government elections in Islamabad and the protection of parents.
The Protection of Parents Bill, 2022 would be tabled for further legislation.
A bill to amend the law governing the local government elections in the federal capital would also be introduced.
The amendments are aimed at increasing the number of union council seats in Islamabad and the direct election of the mayor as well as their deputy.
The present government had passed the local government amendment bill through the NA and Senate earlier.
However, President Arif Alvi had returned the bill without giving it his assent.
Now the bill would be approved by the joint sitting of parliament.
According to the Constitution, a bill approved by a joint sitting of parliament is sent to the president for his approval.
Nevertheless, the bill becomes an Act of parliament even without the president’s nod after the passage of 10 days.
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