The Senate is set to take up a heavy agenda involving private members' bills, resolutions and motions when it meets again on Monday. There are 14 private members bills, eight resolutions, and three amendments to Senate Rules, according to the agenda circulated.
The private members bills include a bill to provide for the welfare of senior citizens and to amend the West Pakistan Family Courts Act of 1964 moved respectively by Ghafoor Ahmad of MMA and Anisa Zeb of ruling coalition.
Six bills of PPP include three by Raza Rabbani and three by Farhatullah Babar. Rabbani's bills seek to amend the Banking Companies' Ordinance and Service Tribunals Act.
Farhat's bills seek to amend the Commissions' of Inquiry Act and to provide for pronouncement of judgements by courts and their publication.
The bill seeking to amend the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 1956 aims at entitling the general public to get copies of reports and findings of Inquiry Commissions.
The Commission of Inquiry may prohibit publication of its reports if it is necessary in the interest of national security but only after recording in writing the reasons, the amendment says.
The statement of objects in respect of the Bill for pronouncement of judgments by the Courts moved by Farhatullah says: "It has been observed that undue delay is caused in announcement of judgments or orders, resulting in undue delays and, in many cases, in rehearing of the entire case".
Among the resolutions is one relating to Hudood Ordinance. The resolution, moved by Farhatullah says, "This House expresses the opinion that the punishments under the offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood ) Ordinance 1979 are un-Islamic".
Another resolution moved by Dr Shahzad Waseem says, "This House recommends that the payment of commission/reward to the Motorway police personnel out of the amount of challan/fines done by them be stopped immediately".
The Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian has also moved several amendments in the Senate rules. An amendment moved by the PPP Senator says: "It shall be mandatory for the chairman of Senate to constitute the committees during the first session of the Senate after the meeting called to elect the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate".
Another amendment says that there shall be two instead of one private members' days in any week. The amendment says that both Monday and Tuesday shall be Private Members' days.
The Senator had also sought to curb the powers of Chairman of disallowing questions and resolutions in his chamber.
The amendment seeks to make it binding on the Chairman to record in writing why in his opinion the disclosure of some information on the floor of the House is detrimental to the integrity and security of the country.
However all amendments to rules seeking to put fetters on powers of the Chairman have not been admitted and are not listed for agenda of the Senate.
Farhat said that amendments were moved because important motions and resolutions which sought to correct the civil-military imbalance or to restore to the Parliament its authority were consistently killed in the Chamber behind the façade of such vague terms as 'public interest' or 'national security' without identifying the limits of these terms.
He said that the Kargil debacle resulted in heavy loss of life in the 4th Northern Light Infantry, exposed wide holes in the theory of nuclear deterrence, brought the two countries on the verge of a nuclear war and reduced the genuine struggle for self-determination in Kashmir an issue of cross-border terrorism.
A resolution calling for setting up of a Parliamentary Committee to investigate the Kargil incident was killed in the Chamber and he was informed that it was of a "secret and sensitive nature" and therefore could not be discussed in the House.
Another resolution shot down without any discussion was to enact suitable legislation to regulate the functioning of the intelligence agencies, particularly the ISI, with respect to issues relating to raids, detention and arrest of suspects in the country.
This resolution was also declared as sensitive and of secretive nature. A question about whether there were any well-defined laws governing the intelligence agencies was also killed in the Chamber.
A resolution calling for the appointment of a self-regulating bipartisan parliamentary inquiry commission to examine allegations of nuclear sales and to review the National Command and Control Authority was disallowed and killed in the Chamber.
A resolution questioning the exemption granted to serving defence personnel travelling in private vehicles from payment of toll tax on major roads and highways was killed just because the Army would get angry, says the PPP in a statement.
The resolution had demanded that like all citizens, the men in uniform should also be required to participate in national development by paying toll tax like all other commuters.
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