Inordinate delay: Several bills stalled in NA since September

ISLAMABAD: The Gwadar Port Authority Bill has been deferred in every session of the National Assembly since September – perhaps because the rules of procedure in the lower house don’t let any bill lapse, even if it’s not taken up despite being on the agenda.

“A bill once tabled never lapses because there is no provision in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly,” Deputy Secretary National Assembly Mushtaq Ahmed told The Express Tribune.

The Gwadar Port Authority Act, 2010, was introduced in the lower house on March 19, 2010, and then sent to a relevant standing committee for further fine tuning.

Following approval by the committee, the bill appeared on the agenda but was never taken up.

It appeared on the agenda in every session since September but has been dropped time and time again due to the absence of Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), who was to move the bill for voting.

Responding to a question, Ahmed said, “No matter how many times a bill is deferred, it never lapses.”

The current session of the lower house of parliament started on December 10. On Tuesday, members were expected to introduce the legislation. However, 76% of the agenda was left unaddressed, according to the daily factsheet of the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen).

Like ministers, members who had proposed amendments in several laws did not turn up to move their bills for voting in the house.

The average time for every sitting since Monday is not more than two hours, out of which the first hour is spent on a question/answer session. Similarly, every session of the lower house started almost an hour later than the given time.

Furthermore, since the beginning, the ongoing session has passed one bill further to amend, the Pakistan Coinage Act, 1906 [The Pakistan Coinage (Amendment) Bill, 2011]. According to the statement of objects and reason, the State Bank of Pakistan has recommended the elimination of decimal/old coins as they are no more transacted.

In addition to the legislation process, several other items, such as debates on certain issues, are also given similar treatment. A debate on the country’s  law and order situation -- which has been pending since September -- was taken up just once during the ongoing session.

Correction: An earlier version of the article was carrying an incorrect intro. The error is regretted.