National Assembly: Controversial bills to be put to vote

Report on new provinces also expected today.

ISLAMABAD:

The government will conduct poll on the National Accountability Bill and Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill in the National Assembly (NA) session today, sources in the NA secretariat told The Express Tribune.

The Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012 known as ‘tax amnesty’ is a controversial legislation which seeks fiscal amnesty for tax evaders. Earlier this month, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) managed to win approval on this bill in the Senate despite strong resistance from its allies.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had opposed the bill when it was recently presented in the upper house. PPP lacks the numbers to get this bill approved in the lower house voting if the two parties continue their resistance.



The government is also expected to present the report on new provinces in Punjab. The report is much awaited and has the propensity to damage the election campaign of PPP in Southern Punjab if remained unfinished.

However, the chairman of the commission Senator Farhatullah Babar has already asked the NA speaker for a third extension.

This NA session is likely to be the last of the fifth parliamentary year. According to Article 54 of the Constitution, it is mandatory for the lower house to complete its 130 working days in a parliamentary year. However, the assembly has completed only 88 working days this year.



Earlier, the NA session was postponed due to the long march by Minhajul Quran International (MQI) chief Tahirul Qadri. The government in a bid to end MQI’s sit-in agreed to dissolve the National Assembly on or prior to its expiry date of March 16.

Qadri had marched to the capital with a set of demands that included dissolution of assemblies, revamping electoral laws, reconstitution of election commission and setting up of an impartial caretaker government.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2013.