ISLAMABAD: The opposition lawmakers in National Assembly on Tuesday surrounded speaker's dais, tore agenda copies and chanted slogans against the prime minister after the deputy speaker did not allow them to speak on point of order.
NA deputy speaker Qasim Suri proceeded with the business of the day without paying any heed to the calls by opposition MPs to allow them to speak on point of orders.
This prompted the enraged MPs to surround the dais of the speaker to lodge their protests, saying the speaker 'barring them from exercising their democratic rights', as they wanted to highlight important issues in their point of orders.
However, the deputy speaker did not move an inch and put three bills - The Islamabad Capital Territory Food Safety Bill, 2020, The Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and The Islamabad Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2020 - to the house which were approved amid uproar and sloganeering by the opposition lawmakers.
Abdul Qadir Patel of PPP pointed out the quorum but the government also managed to introduce 13 bills in the house. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said it is private members' day and the opposition members should participate in the legislation.
He said there is also business of the opposition but it is very unfortunate that the opposition members are protesting in spite of taking their agenda item. "They are whistling in the house. I urge the chair to reject their bills if they do not want to participate in the proceedings of the house," he said.
According to objects and reasons of "The Islamabad Capital Territory Food Safety Bill, 2020, it is the responsibility of the government to provide safe, secure and hygienic food to its citizens without any discrimination. For this, food standards are formulated keeping in view the health and safety of the citizens.
The provision of pure and standard food keeps the citizens health and overall performance of the nation improves. The healthy nations can perform best in every field of life.
It is dire need of the time to establish Food Authority in Islamabad Capital Territory to curb the menace of food adulteration, the bill to establish the food authority will ensure pure and safe food to the people along with comprehensive operational mechanism for regulating and managing food items according to the standard fixed by the authority.
The bill also provides exemplary punishments to those who play havoc to the citizens by their nefarious designs by indulging in food adulteration."
According to objects and reasons of "The Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, 2020, 'every agreement between landlord and tenant shall be presented before the controller for record keeping...any payments related to the tenancy agreement shall be made through cross cheques or with an official receipt/acknowledgement'.
The rents of residential and non-residential buildings shall be annually increase by ten percent automatically unless the parties decide to the contrary in writing. For dispute resolution between the landlord and tenant there shall be a Mediation Council to be presided by the President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce or his nominee as its Convener. A representative of the tenant and the landlord will both constitute as members of the council.
The controller, before proceeding with a case shall refer it to the Mediation Council. In case of no settlement, the Controller shall proceed with the case. In case of a settlement, the order passed by the Controller in accordance with the decision of the Medication Council shall be considered final.
According to objects and reasons of "The Islamabad Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2020, "there is a dire need to establish a Real Estate Regulatory Authority in order to regulate and promote the real estate sector. It will also protect the interests of consumers and ensure smooth sale of plots and real estate projects in an efficient and transparent manner. In addition, it will give the consumers a speedy dispute redressed of their complaints through establishment an adjudication mechanism through the Authority and provide an Appellate Tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders or directions of Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
As many as 13 bills were introduced in the house which include: The Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Mental Health (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The National, Vocational and Technical Training Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Biometric Electoral Voting Bill, 2020, The Legal Aid and Justice Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Prevention of Offences in Sports Bill, 2020, The Islamabad Model Police Bill, 2020 and The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The house adjourned to meet again on Friday at 10:30am due to lack of quorum.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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