SATURDAY MARCH 31: Modaraba, Delimitation of Constituencies (Amendment) Bills passed

ISLAMABAD: Joint session of the Parliament on Friday unanimously passed "The Modaraba Companies and Modaraba (Floatation and Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2009 to safeguard the interest of Modaraba investors and to bring efficiency in the Modaraba management and strengthen the non-banking finance companies sector.
The joint session also unanimously passed "The Delimitation of Constituencies (Amendment) Bill, 2011" to allocate seats on the basis of population in the National Assembly for each province, FATA and Federal Capital and limitation of territorial constituencies of general seats. This Bill has been proposed consequential amendments in Section 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 of the Constitutional (18th Amendment) Act, 2010.
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah tabled both the bills in the joint-house of the parliament for passage. The bills were unanimously passed. The Modaraba Companies and Modaraba (Floatation and Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2009 seeks to empower the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to make regulations and to issue directives, circulars, codes and guidelines. The Bill further seeks to empower the Registrar of Modarabas to issue directions to the Modarabas and Modaraba management companies.
The Bill would strengthen the regulatory powers of the Commission and the directive authority of the Registrar, thereby safeguarding the interest of Modaraba investors, bringing efficiency in the Modaraba management and strengthening the non-banking finance companies sector. A new section 18A was inserted in the Modaraba Companies and Modaraba Ordinance, 2008 as under:
"18A. Power to issue directions:
(1) notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Ordinance, where the Registrar is satisfied that it is necessary and expedient (a) in the public interest; or (b) to prevent the affairs of any Modaraba from being conducted in a manner detrimental to the interest of holders of Modaraba Certificates; or (c) to secure the proper management of any Modaraba generally, he may issue such directions to a Modaraba company or the Modaraba companies generally, as he may deem fit, and the Modaraba company and its management shall be bound to comply with such directions.
(2) the Registrar may, on a representation made to him or on his own motion, modify or withdraw any direction issued under sub-section (1), and in so modifying or cancelling any directions may impose such conditions as he think fit." Similarly, according to new insertion 41A in the Ordinance;
"41A. Power to make regulations
(1) The Commission may, by notification in official Gazette, make such regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Ordinance:
Provided that the power to make regulations conferred by this section shall be subject to the condition of previous publication and before making any regulations the draft thereof shall be published in the manner considered most appropriate by the Commission for eliciting public opinion thereon within a period of not less than 14 days from the date of publication.
(2) Any regulation made under sub-section (1) may provide that a contravention thereof shall be punishable with a fine which may extend to 100,000 rupees and, where the contravention is a continuing one, with a further fine which may extend to 1,000 rupees for every day after the first during which such contravention continues.
41B. power to issue directives, circulars, codes, guidelines, etc: The Commission may issue such directives, circulars, codes, guidelines or notifications as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Ordinance and regulation made hereunder."
According to clause 5 of Delimitation of Constituencies (Amendment) Bill 2011, "8 Delimitation of Constituencies
(1) For the purpose of election to the National Assembly, the Commission shall divide: (a) each Province into as many separate territorial constituencies as the number of general seats allocated to that Province under section 7; and (b) the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Federal Capital into as many separate territorial constituencies, as the number of general seats respectively allocated to said Areas and Federal Capital under section 7.
The constituencies for the seats reserved for women in the National Assembly shall be such that each Province forms one constituency with as many such seats as are allocated to that Province under section 7.
The constituency for all seats reserved for non-Muslims in the National Assembly under clause (4) of Article 51 shall be the entire country. For the purpose of election to Provincial Assemblies, the Commission shall divide each Province into as many separate territorial constituencies as the number of general seats.
Substitution of section 9, Act XXXIV of 1974. - In the said Act, for section 9, the following shall be substituted, namely:
"9. Principles of delimitation.- (1) All constituencies for general seats shall, as far as practicable, be delimited having regard to the distribution of population in geographically compact areas, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience and other cognate factors to ensure homogeneity in the creation of constituencies: Provided that for the purpose of delimiting constituencies for the general seats for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas two or more separate areas may be grouped into one constituency. (2) As far as may be the constituencies for election to the same Assembly shall be equal among themselves in population."