In a rare show of unity in the National Assembly, the opposition on Friday agreed to withdraw a no-trust motion against deputy speaker after the government acceded to its demand of holding a debate on the ordinances which were previously passed hurriedly from the Lower House of the Parliament.
Following extensive discussions, both sides took to the assembly floor to announce steps indicating a welcome thaw in the increasingly frigid relations between the government and opposition.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif who accused the government of "playing with Nawaz Sharif's life" a day ago, said the opposition is going to withdraw the no-confidence motion against NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri submitted last week.
The motion was submitted after Suri refused to listen to opposition parties' protest as the government passed 11 ordinances without holding a debate, which had angered the opposition benches.
Asif said it had been agreed that the controversial ordinances would be withdrawn and sent back to parliamentary committees for consideration.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Swati said the bills that were passed and ordinances tabled in National Assembly on November 7 will be presented in the Parliament again for debate and a consensus will be developed.
He added that a debate would be held on the controversial ordinances, which dissolved the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and paved the way for the establishment of Pakistan Medial Commission.
Swati told the House that the government and opposition had agreed that Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Ordinance, 2019, Enforcement of Women's Property Rights Ordinance, 2019, Legal Aid and Justice Authority Ordinance, 2019, and Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Ordinance, 2019, will be withdrawn and passed on the day of withdrawal.
He said Benami Transaction (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and The National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2019 will be sent back to the relevant committees.
Swati said more discussions would be held on the Medical Tribunal Ordinance, Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance and the Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission Ordinance, 2019. Bills on those three ordinances, he said, would be brought with consensus.
Defence Minister Pervez Khattak said the government has decided to improve the assembly's atmosphere, adding, "We all should work together to improve the performance of the Parliament."
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Asad Umar lauded the opposition's decision to withdraw the no-trust motion against Suri, saying, "All of us have come here through votes and we should focus on solving the people's issues."
"Legislation done by committees is more effective. After five years, people will say that Speaker Asad Qaiser strengthened this House," he added.
Meanwhile, MQM lawmaker Aminul Haq urged the government to allow former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to leave the country for medical treatment. Grand Democratic Alliance's Ghous Bux Khan Mahar seconded Haq's demand and said the government "should not do politics over Nawaz Sharif's health".
He further said the government's condition for Nawaz to submit an indemnity bond in order to leave is "ridiculous".
Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri chaired the entire sitting in the absence of NA Speaker Asad Qaiser.
BILLS The government introduced a total of 15 bills, of which 11 were approved with majority vote. These bills also incorporated nine ordinances, including seven recently promulgated ones. The NA also gave 120-day extension to three ordinances.
The house passed nine bills after their presentation as ordinances. The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business were dispensed through passage of motions for immediate consideration of the bills following which these were passed through voice voting, by skipping their mandatory three readings.
The bills that were passed included the Medical Tribunal Bill 2019, Pakistan Medical Commission Bill 2019, Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Bill 2019, Enforcement of Women's Property Rights Bill 2019, Legal Aid and Justice Authority Bill 2019, Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Order (Repeal) Bill 2019, Benami Transaction (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill 2019, National Accountability (Amendment) Bill 2019 and the Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission Bill 2019.
Two other bills passed after reports of relevant standing committees were submitted included the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2019 and the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Bill 2019. The minister of state for parliamentary affairs laid the Recovery of Mortgage-backed Security Ordinance, 2019 before the house.
Four bills that were referred to the relevant committees after their introduction were the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, Islamabad Capital Territory Senior Citizens Bill 2019, National Highways Safety (Amendment) Bill 2019 and the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The house adopted three resolutions through voice voting to extend three ordinances for a further period of 120 days with effect from November 9, 2019.
These included the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority Ordinance 2019, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 and the Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2019.
Previously, the no-confidence resolution against Suri was submitted by PML-N MNAs Khawaja Asif, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha, and Muhammad Sajjad on November 8, 2019.
"We the following members understand that the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly violated the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, 2007 and lost the confidence of the majority of the House," read the resolution.
"Thereby we moved Resolution under Article 53(7)(c) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan against Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan." The session was prorogued sine die.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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