Senate proceedings: Govt fails to pass dual nationality bill again

Amendments required approval of 67 out of 104 senators, govt fell short of only three senators.

ISLAMABAD:

The ruling coalition fell flat on its face for the second time on Thursday after it failed to pass the Twenty-Second Amendment Bill, 2012, in Senate due to lack of numerical strength.

The Upper House had earlier put the Constitutional 22nd and 23rd Amendments Act 2012 on the agenda of the day and was planning on getting them passed.

The amendments required approval of 67 out of 104 senators.

However, the government fell short of only three senators, as eight Pakistan Peoples Party senators, including Babar Awan, Senator Waqar Ahmed and Faisal Raza Abidi, were absent due to personal reasons.

Chairman Senate Nayyar Hussain Bokhari chaired the proceedings that started with the question-hour and then took a 20 minutes break for prayers. But the session resumed after one and half hour as the government tried to gather the required members in a futile exercise.

When the session finally resumed, the chairman asked Law Minister Farooq H Naek to move the Constitutional 22th Amendment Bill but the minister requested the chair to defer it, without giving a reason.

Sensing the situation, the chair rushed to read out the prorogue order. The house was then prorogued amid throat-bursting protests by opposition senators, led by PML-N members, saying: “Shame, shame.”

Opposition lawmakers also tried to talk on the point of order, but the chairman walked off.

Under the proposed 22th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2012, dual nationals of countries with which Pakistan has an agreement with cannot be barred from contesting elections.

The proposed 23th Constitutional Bill, 2012, tabled by the Awami National Party (ANP), proposes to bar senior government employees of BPS-20 and above from holding dual nationalities.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2012.