Ogra amendment and corporal punishment bills: NA body defers two bills for further deliberations

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday deferred two bills with directives for further deliberations on them. The committee met in the chair of Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan and examined "The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2017" and "The Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2017." Both the bills had been passed by the Senate and referred to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat for review on March 14, 2017.
The committee also examined "The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2017," which was also passed by the Senate Secretariat. The mover of the bill proposed that equal representation might be given to all provinces in Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) just like National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA). The chairperson Ogra strongly opposed the proposed legislation with the viewpoint that it was a policy decision and might be addressed in the Council of Common Interests (CCI). Minister In-charge for Cabinet Secretariat Sheikh Aftab Ahmed agreed in principal with the viewpoint of the chairperson Ogra and suggested that the said bill might be deferred for further discussion. The committee, therefore, deferred the bill till its next meeting.
In has been argued in the bill that after the passage of 18th Constitutional Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, the provinces have been granted greater autonomy in matters relating to their natural reserves, hence, any regulatory mechanism working at federal level to regulate the affairs of the distribution of these resources and matters connected therewith must be mutually shared and agreed upon.
However, this can be made possible only if any regulatory mechanism possesses equal representation from all the provinces; hence, it is necessary to provide equal representation to all the provinces in the Ogra. At the same time, it is also necessary if any dispute arises in the affairs of the authority; it is resolved at a constitutional forum of the CCI.
The committee examined "The Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2017" which was passed by the Senate. The committee directed that the Capital Administration & Development Division (CA&DD) may hold a meeting with mover of the bill and Law Division to build a consensus and avoid replication of the existing legislation. The committee, therefore, deferred the Bill till its next meeting for further discussion. It is function of the state to protect the inviolable dignity of children as human beings.
The mover of the bill argued that corporal or physical punishment is common and rampant in schools and is also found in "care institutions." It is used as a form of showing control, intimidation and authority.
For children, life is never easy or fair; therefore, within the institutional framework of the classroom, corporal punishment must be banned and replaced with the constructive and communicative approach. Similarly, in childcare institutions, corporal punishment can become a form of abuse. These are the reasons for which the bill seeks to eliminate corporal punishment.