Rabbani moves bill in Senate for ratification of foreign agreements: report

ISLAMABAD: Ex-Chairman Senate Senator Mian Raza Rabbani on Thursday gave a notice to the Senate Secretariat for moving a bill titled, “The Ratification of Foreign Agreements by Parliament Bill, 2018.”

According to reports in the local media, Rabbani in a notice submitted to the Senate Secretariat wrote that the phrase “Foreign Agreements” in Clause 2 of the Bill “means and includes all Agreements, Treaties, Contracts and Trade Protocols signed with foreign governments or Banks or Donor or Lending Agencies by the government of Pakistan; while the word “Ratification” means passed by a simple majority of each House of Parliament.”

Rabbani in his notice stated that Section 3 of the bill provides that any Agreement, Treaties, Contracts and Trade Protocols signed with the foreign government or Lending Agencies by the government of Pakistan shall be laid before Parliament within 15 days of the finalisation with the other parties ie before it is signed by the parties.

The notice stated that a procedure of ratification by Parliament is provided in Section 4 of the Bill which directs that both the Houses shall pass the foreign agreement within 15 days each or make a recommendation to the concerned division and the government of Pakistan shall take up the recommendations of Parliament if any, with the other party.