EDITORIAL: The joint session of Parliament held on Thursday is remarkable for the unity of purpose with which legislators from both sides of the aisle acted, demonstrating unity of purpose in dealing with issues of national import. Passage of a resolution condemning Indian atrocities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir was adopted with unanimous support. That was the easy part. But a bill related to the demands of the international watchdog, Financial Action task Force (FATF), had become a hard nut to crack for the government. Passed by the National Assembly back in January it had remained pending, as the government was shy of seeking its approval from the upper house where it lacked the necessary numbers. The opposition had been raising several objections to it, such as that it was violative of fundamental rights, allowed extradition of its own citizens on the demand of the countries with which it has no such treaty, and handed "unfettered powers" to the interior secretary as "the central authority "to seek information about foreign bank accounts and transactions made by any citizens.
The opposition, of course, wanted as much to get the country off the FATF's grey list as did the government. But it had genuine concerns that needed to be addressed. Under pressure to come though on its international obligations the government held two-day hectic negotiations with the two main opposition parties, the PML-N and the PPP, leading to insertion of several amendments in the bill proposed by them, including steps to prevent possible misuse of the law and to ensure parliamentary oversight on its implementation. That helped the passage of the Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2020, by the joint sitting of Parliament in the presence of both opposition leaders, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Conspicuous by his absence on such an important occasion as a joint parliamentary session was Prime Minister Imran Khan who, upon assumption of office, had promised not only to regularly attend parliamentary proceedings but also hold a bi-weekly 'PM's Question Hour'. Rarely does he, however, make an appearance in the forum from which he derives the right to govern.
The approval of the bill was followed by the usual rumpus, forcing Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to prorogue the session. Such routine rowdy behavior by legislators may not be nice, but it can be ignored as a din of democracy. Nevertheless, it helps no one when instead of having serious debates and discussions on issues at hand the two sides end up hurling insults and accusation at one another, resulting in frequent walkouts by the opposition members. The antagonism between them notwithstanding, when it comes to problems pertaining to foreign or domestic challenges they are expected to rise above the fray and do what the people elected them for. The democratic system would be much stronger if only the treasury and opposition benches could deal with various national issues in the same give-and-take spirit with which they have agreed on meeting the FATF requirements.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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