Debate is on: Assembly passes Overseas Pakistanis Commission Bill

According to the bill, a commission under the chief minister shall be formed

LAHORE:

The provincial assembly passed the Punjab Overseas Pakistanis’ Commission Bill 2014 during a chaotic session on Friday.

According to the bill, a commission under the chairmanship of the chief minister will be formed. It shall include an overseas Pakistani nominated by the chief minister as the vice chairman and three members of the Punjab Assembly, two women, a commissioner, the chief secretary, a senior member of the Board of Revenue, Planning and Development Board chairman, Board of Investment and Trade chairman, Punjab Information Technology Board chairman, a provincial police officer and the home secretary.

The Act also includes clauses for establishment of an advisory council, district committees and the appointment of departmental focal persons to facilitate the office of the overseas Pakistanis commissioner.

The session saw some heated debates between the treasury and the opposition benches.

Jamaat-i-Islami’s Syed Waseem Akhtar argued that there was a need to test public opinion before a bill was passed by the assembly.

“Taking public opinion into account while formulating laws is a worldwide phenomenon,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that those sitting on the treasury benches vote for a bill without even reading it” he said.



Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sardar Shahabuddin shared his views.

The assembly also passed he Punjab Registration of Godowns Bill 2014 which aims to provide a comprehensive system on stable supply and availability of essential articles.

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s Sardar Vickas Hassan Mokal said the definitions in the bill were vague.

MPA Khadija Umer called on the speaker to allow more time to debate the bill.

The assembly also passed the Punjab Local Government (amendment) Bill 2014 and inserted Section 195-B, calling for establishing a company for cattle market, of which nazims would be members.

Another amendment in the bill, through addition of Section 146-A, said chairmen and mayors of the local government would be members of the company.

PPP’s Faiza Malik opposed the motion to pass the bill, saying the law allowed for nepotism.

Chaudhry Aamir Sultan Cheema asked why there was an urgency to pass the bill.

Law Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman said all proposed bills had been promulgated as ordinances in June and were available on the Law Department’s website.

The speaker expressed annoyance several times over disregard order, particularly by some women members from the treasury benches.

The attendance remained thin throughout the session until Cheema pointed it out the lack of quorum during the debate over passage of the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Bill. Several lawmakers then returned to the House and voted for the bills.  The Punjab Arms (Amendment) Bill 2014 was also introduced. It was referred to the standing committee on home affairs for its report in two months.

Motions

Cheema moved an adjournment over pollution caused in Lahore by 60 pyrolysis plants.

It was kept pending.

Another adjournment motion by Mian Tariq Mahmood on the failure to take action against corruption among government officials in Gujrat and Gujranwala was also kept pending.

Sheikh Alauddin took up the matter of expired meat imported through a Chinese company.

He said the supplier company had been shut down by the Chinese government on charges of exporting expired meat with new packaging stating a new expiry date.

He said the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited’s record indicated that during May and June, as many as 41 tonnes and 71 tonnes of such meat had been imported. The motion was kept pending with the speaker calling on the Food Department to address the issue immediately.

Questions

Questions on the illegal occupation of land under the control of the Auqaf Department were discussed. Answering Qazi Ahmed Saeed’s queries, Minister for Auqaf and Religious Affairs Mian Atta Muhammad Maneka said land under the Muslim Auqaf in Lahore totalled nearly 8,100 kanals, more than 724 kanals of which was under illegal occupation.

He said 34 kanals had been reclaimed.

The session was adjourned till 3pm on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2014.