Senate body to take up 10 private member’s bills on Thursday

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice is set to take up 10 private member’s Constitution amendment bills, mostly moved by opposition members, in its meeting scheduled for Thursday (Dec 23).

Through these bills, the movers have suggested some crucial changes to various provisions of the Constitution related to the promulgation of ordinance, increase in the powers of the Senate, ensuring meaningful participation of the provinces in the affairs of the federation and fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan.

The committee is also set to take up a bill of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Senator Seemee Ezdi seeking allocation of seats for the people with disabilities in the Senate.

The proposed amendment to Article 59 reads as “two persons with disabilities, one from each province, shall be elected by the members of each provincial assembly”.

Most of the bills’ movers are opposition members; crucial changes to various provisions of Constitution proposed

The Statement of Objects and Reasons attached to the bill states that the 5th Population and Housing Census conducted in 1998 had identified the population of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Pakistan to be 2.38 per cent of the entire population. After that no authentic data is available about their existing number so far.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately 15pc of Pakistan’s population consists of persons with disabilities. Pakistan is a signatory state of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) according to which the government is committed to protecting the rights of the PWDs and to make them functional members of society through constitutional and legal provisions as well as practical measures on policy level also.

As the government has to ensure fair representation of marginalised groups, including the PWDs, in all government bodies, it has already passed Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance, 1981, to increase the representation of persons with disabilities in the public and private bodies.

There are seats currently reserved for various minority groups in the Senate, but not a single one for persons with disabilities.

The bill has been proposed to provide equal representation to PWDs in the Senate, which will have an impact on policy development and change the society’s image about persons with disabilities.

Another bill on the committee’s agenda is aimed at preventing the successive governments from misusing Article 89(2) of the Constitution which allows the government to promulgate ordinances when the National Assembly or the Senate is not in session.

The bill was moved by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani during the Senate session on June 8, 2020. Through the bill, the PPP senator wants to make it binding upon the federal government to lay the ordinance in the first sitting of either house of the parliament after its promulgation, stating that in case of the failure of the government to do so, the ordinance “shall stand repealed” automatically.

Through another bill, Mr Rabbani has sought the right of speech and participation in the Senate proceedings for the provincial chief ministers.

“A chief minister shall have the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of the Senate of Pakistan when so invited by the [Senate] chairman, but shall not by virtue of this Article be entitled to vote,” says the proposed amendment to Article 57 of the Constitution, which allows the prime minister, who is the leader of the house in the National Assembly, to take part in the proceedings of the upper house.

Through another amendment, Mr Rabbani has sought to increase weightage of the votes of senators during the proceedings of the joint sitting of the parliament. The amendment has apparently been moved by the PPP senator in the wake of the present government’s dependence on doing legislation in the joint sitting of the parliament as it lacks majority in the Senate.

The proposed amendment to Article 72 of the Constitution reads: “Provided that one vote of a member of Senate shall be proportionate to the total number of seats in the National Assembly divided by the total number of seats in the Senate.”

If the formula is applied, then one vote of a senator will be equivalent to 3.4 votes as the National Assembly comprises 342 members whereas the total strength of the Senate is at present 100.

In the same bill, Mr Rabbani has sought an amendment to Article 160 of the Constitution, proposing that if the government fails to announce the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award within five years, “the government shall take permission from the Senate to extend the previous award for another year”.

It further says that “in case of extension, the Senate may increase the award for the provinces by one per cent”.