Bill to be put to vote today: MQM contends many of its proposals not accepted

"The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010" would be put to vote clause by clause in the Lower House of the Parliament today (Thursday), reliable sources told Business Recorder. According to National Assembly Secretariat sources, the debate on 18th Amendment Bill came to an end on Wednesday, and now each and every clause of the Bill would be required to be passed by a two-thirds majority.
This required size of the majority would be ascertained through a head count of members standing up in the House. The sources said that after a vote on each and every clause of the Bill, a motion on the Bill would be passed at the end. They said the voting on the motion for the passage of the bill would be conducted in the same manner as the election of the Leader of the House in the National Assembly.
If the reading of the clauses of the bill is completed for a vote today (Thursday), the Bill would be passed. Otherwise, it would be passed on Friday with a two-thirds majority. According to the sense of the House, which offers the opinion or the legislators, no parliamentary party is opposing the Bill as all the parties are ready to adopt it with a two-thirds majority. However, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) will be the only party proposing or seeking changes in the draft bill.
On Wednesday, the members of the National Assembly while participating in the debate on "The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010, appreciated the role of the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR) Mian Raza Rabbani, its member and the political leadership.
They also praised President Asif Ali Zardari for surrendering his powers voluntarily and transferring them to the Parliament. They said that it was for the first time in the history of Pakistan that a President himself had offered to transfer his powers to the Parliament.
Taking part in the debate on the Bill, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan appreciated the role of President Zardari and PML-N Qauid Nawaz Sharif. He said that he was particularly thankful to the President who gave "identity to our soil." He said there was a dire need to implement the reforms and economic development package in FATA.
About Balochistan situation, he said that all the political forces should be taken on board to establish peace in the province. "We have to show political maturity in Balochistan, otherwise it may turn into another Malakand, Swat or Dir," he said.
Dr Farooq Sattar of MQM said his party had proposed transfer of sales tax on goods and Central Excise Duty to the provinces, but the Committee did not accept the proposal. "We had also proposed to create few seats for overseas Pakistanis in the Lower House of the Parliament as well as in four provincial legislatures through an amendment in Articles 51 and 106," he said.
He said his party had also recommended that health and education sectors should be put in Chapter-1 of social sector of the constitution and the powers in relation to appointment in government services should be transferred to the provinces. Similarly, he said, he had also proposed that the control of postal service, telecommunication, telecom and broadcast should be given to the provinces.
"We agreed on the renaming of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa of the NWFP, but now the ANP should satisfy the people of Hazara and other areas of the province. There is no harm if we should create another Saraiki province," he said and added that there should be a provision in the Constitution to create a province in the country with a simple majority of the Parliament. He said he had also proposed an increase in the number of seats of National Assembly. He added that the number of National Assembly constituencies for Karachi should be increased from 20 to 40.
Sahibzada Fazal Karim demanded the removal of Article-45 from the Constitution. The article says: "The President shall have power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority.
According to him, this article is repugnant to Islamic injunctions. MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said his party proposed to amend Article 37 with an addition to it that "the principle that a person is innocent unless proved guilty is a universally accepted norm and all civilised countries have adopted this principle as a part of its criminal jurisprudence". However, he said, the committee did not accept his proposal. Abdul Qadir Baloch, Syed Nasir Ali Shah, Maulvi Asmatullah, ANP leader Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Makhdoom Amin Fahim and others also participated in the debate.