ISLAMABAD – As many as 39 bills and 10 ordinances were tabled in the national assembly by the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government during the third parliamentary year starting from March 2009 till December 31,2010 of which 22 bills were passed, 10 stood introduced, three deferred while four were not taken up.
Of the total 39 bills, 36 were tabled by the PPP ministers, two by a MQM minister while one was tabled by Environment Minister Hameedullah Jan Afridi, who was elected from FATA as an independent candidate.However, no minister from the JUI-F or the ANP took part in the legislation while both the bills by Babar Ghauri, the MQM minister, stood introduced and no further action was taken.
Two most important bills, which could be adjudged as a major achievement of the present parliament, were tabled by PPP senator Mian Raza Rabbani who is Advisor to the Prime Minister. These bills, the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 and the Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010, were unanimously drafted and passed by all political parties in both houses of the parliament.
BILLS DEFERRED: The National Vocational and Technical Education Commission Bill, 2008 introduced by Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat PPP, The National Defense University Bill, 2009 introduced by Defence Minister Ch Ahmad Mukhtar of the PPP, The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2010 tabled by Law Minister Babar Awan of PPP were deferred.
BILLS INTRODUCED: The Finance Bill, 2010 introduced by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaykh of the PPP, The Sea Carriage Shipping Documents Bill, 2010 introduced by Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri of the MQM, The Carriage by Air Bill, 2010 introduced by Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar of PPP, The Securities Bill, 2010 introduced by Hafeez Shaikh of the PPP. The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2010, was introduced by Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Ghauri of the MQM while The Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Bill, 2010, Minister In-Charge Of the Cabinet Secretariat, The Pakistan Coinage (Amendment) Bill, 2010 introduced by Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh of the PPP, The Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, 2010 introduced by Babar Awan of the PPP while The General Sales Tax Bill, 2010, was introduced by Hafeez Shaikh of PPP, The Private Power and Infrastructure Board Bill, 2010 tabled by Raja Pervaiz Ashraf of the PPP while the Pakistan Academy of Letters’ Bill, 2010 introduced by Education Minister Sardar Aseef Ahmad Ali of the PPP.
BILLS NOT TAKEN UP: The Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority Bill, 2010 was tabled by Minister In-Charge Of The Cabinet Secretariat, The Rulers of Acceding States (Abolition of Privy Purses and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill, 2009 introduced by Safron Minister Najmuddin Khan, The Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2008 introduced by Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira of the PPP and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2010 of Qamar Zaman Kaira.
BILLS PASSED: The bills which were passed by the national assembly included the Islamabad High Court Bill, 2010 introduced by Law Minister Babar Awan of the PPP, The Benazir Income Support Programme Bill, 2009, by Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat, The Competition Bill, 2009, by Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh of the PPP, The Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Bill, 2010, by Minister In-Charge Of the Cabinet Secretariat. The Degree Awarding Status to Dawood College of Engineering and Technology, Karachi Bill, 2010, was introduced by Education Minister Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali of the PPP, The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2007, tabled by Minister In-Charge Of the Cabinet Secretariat, The National Disaster Management Bill, 2010, tabled by Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat, The Federal Employees Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2010 tabled by Minister In-Charge Of The Cabinet Secretariat, The State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2010 laid by Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh, The Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design Bill, 2009 tabled by Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim of the PPP,the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (Re-organization and Conversion) Bill, 2009, by former Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin of the PPP, The West Pakistan Regulation and Control of Loudspeakers and Sound Amplifiers (Amendment) Bill, 2007 tabled by Interior Minister Rehman Malik of the PPP, The Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Bill, 2010 tabled by Law Minister Babar Awan of the PPP, The National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2010 tabled by Rehman Malik, The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2010 introduced by Syed Naveed Qamar of the PPP, The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority Bill, 2008, tabled by Minister In-Charge Of the Cabinet Secretariat, The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2008 introduced by Babar Awan, The Pakistan Trade Control of Wild Fauna and Flora Bill, 2010 tabled by Hameedullah Jan Afridi, The Pakistan Engineering Council (Amendment) Bill, 2010 tabled by Culture Minister Pir Aftab Jilani.
