ISLAMABAD: According to sources who spoke to Dawn, the administration has chosen to postpone the introduction of a crucial bill in parliament that aims to change the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act since the coalition partners cannot agree on it.
Although a few Treasury lawmakers had indicated during Monday’s National Assembly session that the government intended to present the bill in the lower house of parliament today (Friday), the bill was not mentioned in the National Assembly Secretary’s orders of the day on Thursday night.
However, according to the Senate Secretariat’s agenda, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar is scheduled to introduce the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024 as a bill before the Senate on Friday.
After the federal cabinet approved the decree, President Asif Ali Zardari issued it on September 20. Three of the most senior judges were to make up the three-judge committee that deals with bench formation under the earlier version of the statute. According to the regulation, any Supreme Court judge could be chosen by Pakistan’s chief justice to serve as its third member.
After the 26th Constitutional Amendment was passed, which altered the process for selecting SC judges and the CJP, the government also sought to expand the number of judges and make additional changes.
Nabil Gabol and Agha Rafiullah, two PPP members from Karachi, spoke in the National Assembly on Monday, protesting the government’s decision to prolong the current session and lamenting the lack of ministers present. They claimed that they wanted to visit their constituencies and that it was now difficult for them to spend time in the federal capital.
Dawn was informed by a government source that the proposed law’s draft was not yet complete and will be presented to the ruling partners for approval. According to the source, the government could easily pass this law because it only needed a simple majority in the house, but it didn’t want to lose the trust of the parties that had backed the 26th Amendment to the Constitution.
After the sitting was adjourned on Tuesday, several MNAs reportedly left for their various constituencies, and they were not anticipated to return to Islamabad for the Friday session, as they were aware that the legislation was not on the agenda. They stated that by November 6, the government hoped to have it approved by parliament.
Aslam Ghouri, a JUI-F spokesman, told Dawn that the administration has not yet released any drafts or proposals pertaining to the judicial law. “How can we oppose it when no one has even asked us about any new upcoming legislation?” the JUI-F spokesperson said.
The agenda for the NA’s Friday meeting stated that PTI members would bring up the subject of adding the names of a number of MNAs to the Passport Control List, the PNIL, and the ECL.
