The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to amend the Elections Act, 2017, with majority vote despite the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf not enjoying majority in the Upper House.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Khan Sawati presented ‘The Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019’ in the Upper House. Explaining the amendment, the minister said the bill is about insertion of Article 2-A in the act, which the National Assembly has already passed. He said the new insertion deals with the issue of delimitation of the constituencies.
The minister said elections are going to be held in 16 constituencies of erstwhile Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) in the coming days and the Election Commission of Pakistan has to work a lot in this regard. He requested the House to pass the bill as early as possible keeping in mind the sensitivity of the issue.
Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Fraz also called for passing the bill for smooth conduct of the elections in tribal areas. During the bill’s reading, Senator Ghous Niazi pointed out quorum but Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani avoided responding to him. After approval of the bill, Sanjrani told the senator that quorum cannot be pointed out during reading of the bill. Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, meanwhile, informed the Senate that degrees of around 800 employees recruited in Karachi Port Trust (KPT) will be verified from the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan responding to a question regarding SDGs goal of ‘zero hunger’ told the House that the ministry has developed 13 projects with a cost of Rs 284 billion over the next five years.
In a written reply, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi informed the Senate that Dr Aafia Siddiqui is willing to file a petition against her imprisonment. He said Aafia Siddiqui is completely aware of her case status and she can only move the court against her punishment according to the United States judicial system.
