New provinces: Where’s NA resolution on parliamentary commission, asks LHC

Judge says prima facie commission’s formation was illegal.

LAHORE:

Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan of the Lahore High Court on Friday directed the government to produce the National Assembly’s resolution for the constitution of a parliamentary commission for the creation of new provinces.

While hearing several petitions against the formation of the commission and the proposed creation of Bahawalpur Southern Punjab province, Justice Khan said it appeared highly unlikely that the assembly had passed a resolution for the formation of the commission.

He said prima facie, the commission’s formation was illegal and without lawful authority.

A deputy attorney general, Nasim Kashmiri, said the resolution was part of the assembly’s internal proceedings and could not be made public.

He added that the question of the commission’s legal status would become ineffective if the assembly passed a bill to this effect.

Kashmiri then sought time to seek instructions from the government and Justice Khan adjourned the hearing till April 2.

Earlier the petitioners’ counsel had argued that neither the Constitution nor rules of business allowed the National Assembly speaker to form a commission for the creation of new provinces. He said the assembly did not have the mandate to create new provinces and that the commission’s proceedings were mala fide.

He said the National Assembly speaker had acted beyond her jurisdiction while constituting the commission.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2013.