Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and its coalition partners have decided to introduce 21st and 22nd Constitutional Amendments and some key legislative measures in the ongoing session of the Parliament. This decision has been taken at a meeting of heads of allied parties held at Aiwan-e-Sadr Friday night with Co-Chairman PPP President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in chair.
Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said that federal law minister Farooq H. Naek briefed the meeting of coalition partners on the legislative measures proposed to be placed before the National Assembly and the Senate during the current session.
The Minister briefed the meeting about the logic and background of the proposed legislative measures which had already been approved by the cabinet. He said that a constitutional amendment bill called 21st constitutional amendment bill would be placed before the National Assembly to increase the family pension from 50% to 75% for the widows of judges of the Supreme Court and High courts.
The 22nd constitutional amendment seeks to remove impediments in the way of Pakistanis holding dual nationalities/ citizenship from contesting election to the Parliament, according to him. Naek said the third legislative measure pertained to enacting a law relating to contempt of court. He said the proposed contempt law was a blend of the powers of the court to punish for its contempt with the right of citizens in a democracy for fair comments and criticism. He explained that the proposed law provided for punishment for contempt as well as full opportunity to the accused for a fair trial including transparent procedures for right to appeal. He said the right to appeal was being streamlined in the bill.
The Law minister said that the fourth legislative measures is an ordinance that would be placed before the National Assembly to validate acts , orders and other instruments made and issued from April 26, 2012 to June 19, 2012 by the then Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
According to him Supreme Court order dated June 19, 2012 and the notification of the Election Commission are retrospective from April 26, 2012 when Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani was disqualified as member of the National Assembly and ceased to be the prime Minster. He said that it was necessary that acts and orders issued by the Prime Minister from 26 April 2012 to 19 June 2012 were given protection and validity to avoid legal complications.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf briefed the meeting on the current energy situation and the measures taken to address the issue. He said the power situation was steadily improving and the government was keeping a strict watch on the progress in addressing the issue of energy shortages. The spokesperson said that coalition partners reiterated their support to the government. The President also hosted dinner for the heads of allied parties.
The meeting was attended among others by former Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Senator Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel, Senator Afrasiab Khattak, Dr Farooq Sattar, Dr Nadeem Ahsan, Senator Mir Israrullah Zehri, Senator Abbas Khan Afridi, and Munir Khan Orakzai Qamar Zaman Kaira, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Farooq H. Naek, federal law Minister and Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar were also present.
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